—the firm word. As for the first aspect—affirming the divine attributes—this is not the place to discuss it; our concern is with the second aspect, which deals specifically with divine speech.
At times they say, “If you maintain that the speech of Allah is uncreated, this is exactly like the Christians’ statement that the Messiah is the Word of God and is uncreated.” At other times they say, “If you claim that the speech of Allah resides in hearts and in written copies, you have echoed the Christians who say that the Word indwelt the Messiah and was clothed in him.”
This latter argument is voiced by those who insist that Allah’s speech is nothing but an inward idea, and by those who contend that Allah never truly sent any of His speech down to the earth. Our purpose here is to address such people.
[So it is said to them]
(1) As for you, you have imitated the Christians in the very core of their misguidance—what blatantly contradicts sound reason and for which Allah declared them disbelievers—whereas the people of affirmation are innocent of that charge. This is clear from what Allah, Exalted is He, has condemned of the Christians’ creed, for He says:
“The Jews say, ‘Ezra is the son of Allah,’ and the Christians say, ‘The Messiah is the son of Allah.’ Such are only words from their mouths; they imitate the statement of those who disbelieved before them. May Allah destroy them—how they are deluded!” (2) [Quran 9:30]
This theme—namely, their ascribing a child to Allah and Allah’s declaration of His transcendence above such a claim—appears in many passages of the Quran. After relating the story of Mary, He says at its close:
“That is Jesus son of Mary—the word of truth about which they dispute (34). It is not befitting for Allah to take a son; exalted is He. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.” (3) [Quran 19:34–35]
And He also says: “They say, ‘The Most Merciful has taken …”