For this reason, Ahmad said on one occasion:

“Whoever says, ‘My utterance of the Quran is created,’ intending thereby the Quran itself, is a Jahmī.”

This qualification excludes the case in which he means his own action and voice.

Al-Lālakā’ī mentioned that someone who used to say this dreamed that he was wearing a fur coat and a man was beating him. He said to the man, “Do not beat me!” The man replied, “I am not beating you; I am only beating the fur coat.” He said, “But I am the one who feels the pain of the blows!” The man replied, “Likewise, when you say, ‘My utterance of the Quran is created,’ you attribute createdness to the Quran.”

Whoever says, “My utterance of the Quran is uncreated,” or says this of his recitation, includes within that statement the verbal-noun sense denoting his own act; yet people’s actions are created. Even if he says, “I meant that the Quran being recited is uncreated, not my own movements,” he is told, “This expression of yours is an innovation: it is ambiguous and misleading, even though your intended meaning is correct.” Likewise, if the first speaker says, “I meant that my action is created,” he is told, “Your expression, too, is an innovation: it is ambiguous and misleading, even though your intended meaning is correct.”

Thus, the leading imams of the Sunnah prohibited both expressions when used without qualification. This was a middle course between the two extremes. Ahmad and other imams used to say:

“The Quran, however it is conveyed, is the speech of Allah, uncreated.”