So listen now, O people of sound mind, and judge whether these fare any better than those. The former—may Allah abase their doctrine—said, “Allah is present in every place,” whereas the latter assert, “He is in no place at all, nor may He be described with ‘where.’” Yet the Messenger who conveyed Allah’s word once asked the slave-girl of Muʿāwiyah ibn al-Ḥakam, “Where is Allah?” (1)

They further claim, “He is above just as He is beneath; no one knows where He is. He is not to be located, neither in heaven nor on earth,” and they reject both direction and boundary.

Those earlier maintained, “He has no speech; He merely created speech.” These, on the other hand, say, “He spoke once, and from the moment He spoke He has ever been speaking; His speech has never ceased, nor can His speech exist in a place where He Himself is not.” Yet they still declare, “He is in no place.”

Next they allege, “It is neither sound nor letters.” They argue, “This is only vitriol and paper (2); that is wool and wood. What was intended is the inscription (3) and the impression; what you hear is but the reciter’s voice—do you not see (4) that some voices are pleasant and others ugly (5)? This is his own utterance, or that for which he will be recompensed.”

One of their leading figures even asked, “Could a Qur’an be made of felt (6)?” Another queried, “Of wood, then?” Bewildered (7), they said, “These (8)…"