Al-Bayhaqī also quoted this line of reasoning in his book Al-Asmāʾ wa al-Ṣifāt (1); however, he conveyed Aḥmad’s proof incorrectly, and when it was met with an objection he offered no answer.

Al-Bayhaqī then said (2): “It is not permissible for a created being to seek refuge in another created being (3). This shows (4) that he sought refuge in one of the attributes of His Essence, and that attribute is uncreated—just as Allah has commanded him to seek refuge in His very Essence, and His Essence is uncreated (5).”

He further stated (6): “It has reached me that Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal used this as proof that the Qur’an is uncreated. He said: For every created thing is marked by some deficiency.”

I reply: Aḥmad’s argument is based on the point already mentioned, as we quoted from the wording of al-Marwadhī (7) in the book he presented to Aḥmad.

What concerns us here (8) is to address the view of the second group, who maintain that the Qur’an consists only of letters and sounds, without the meanings. Their position is self-contradictory, for the letters and sounds Moses heard were in Hebrew, whereas the ones Allah recounts from him in the Qur’an are in Arabic. If speech were nothing but letters and sounds, there would be no distinction between the speech Moses heard and that which