they have done is recorded in the Scriptures.” (1)

It is therefore evident that what is found in the zubar (written records) is merely script that corresponds to knowledge. Between concrete entities and the muṣḥaf (2) there are two intermediary levels— (3) articulated speech and written script.

As for the speech itself, no level stands between it and the parchment; the very speech is placed in the book, even though, from another angle, a difference remains between the uttered letter and the written letter. This holds unless what is meant is that the muṣḥaf contains only a mention of the Qur’an and a report about it, as in His words,
“Indeed, it is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds;
the Trustworthy Spirit has brought it down” (192)…
until His statement,
“and indeed it is in the Scriptures of the former peoples.
Is it not a sign for them that the scholars of the Children of Israel recognize it?” (196) (4).

What is in the Scriptures of the ancients is therefore not the very Qur’an revealed to Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him—for this Qur’an was never revealed to anyone before him. Rather, those earlier Scriptures contain mention of the Qur’an and information about it, just as they contain mention of Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him—and information about him; likewise they record the deeds of the servants, as the Exalted says,
“and everything they have done is recorded in the Scriptures.” (5)

One must therefore distinguish between the fact that these matters are found in the Scriptures and the claim that the speech itself is in the Scriptures, as He says,
“Indeed, it is a noble Qur’an,
in a well-guarded Book” (77) (6),
and He says,
“a messenger from Allah reciting purified scrolls,
within which are upright writings” (2) (7).

Accordingly, whoever asserts that the ink is eternal is mistaken, and whoever claims that the muṣḥaf does not contain Allah’s speech but only ink that merely symbolizes His speech is also mistaken; rather, the Qur’an