is well known⦗1⦘, and he said to Ibn Abī Dāwūd:

“O Aḥmad, this doctrine of yours⦗2⦘ to which you are summoning the people—does the very structure of the religion depend on it so that the faith is incomplete without it? Did the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, know it? Did he command it? And was it permissible for him and for his successors to remain silent about it?⦗3⦘”

These proofs made it clear that, had this assertion truly formed part of the religion, it would have been incumbent to proclaim it; the fact that it was never set forth, despite every reason that required its clarification, shows that it is not from the religion. And whatever is not from the religion is false, for every matter of religion must fall under one of two⦗4⦘ possibilities: either Allah, exalted is He, spoke the Qur’an and all of His⦗5⦘ speech Himself, or He created it within something other than Himself—no third alternative is conceivable⦗6⦘.

Since the view that He created it in something else is not of the religion, the other view becomes obligatory: that He alone is the One who spoke it. From Him it began, to Him it returns; His is the True Word, and from His very Presence it descended. Had it been created⦗8⦘ in some other body, it would stand on the same footing as what He creates in hands, feet, arms, stone, and other bodies⦗9⦘: though arising from Him in the sense of being His creation, it would not be from His Presence, nor would it be speech from Him, nor would it have originated with Him⦗10⦘.