lie against Allah by claiming that He does not speak. You have thus likened Him to idols, for idols neither speak nor move nor pass from one place to another.’

When the proof became clear to him, he said: ‘Allah may speak, but His speech is created.’ We said: ‘The speech of human beings is likewise created. You have therefore likened Allah Most High to His creation by claiming that His speech is created. According to your doctrine, there was a time when He did not speak, until He created speech.

‘Likewise, human beings did not speak until He created speech for them. You have thus combined disbelief with likening Allah to His creation. Exalted is Allah above such a description! Rather, we say that Allah has always spoken whenever He wills. We do not say that He existed without speaking until He created speech, nor do we say that He lacked knowledge until He created knowledge and then came to know.’