better than the Jews and Christians in this respect.

It is well known that among the hypocrites who have entered Islam are some who are worse than the Jews and Christians, while others have a hypocrisy less grave than the disbelief of the Jews and Christians.

[Continuation of Ibn Rushd’s discussion of the attribute of speech and Ibn Taymiyyah’s response]

Ibn Rushd said:

“If a created being who is not a true agent—namely, a human being—is capable of this act by virtue of possessing knowledge and power, then all the more must this necessarily hold true of the true agent.”

He said:

“This act has another condition in the observable world: it must occur through an intermediary, namely, an utterance.

“If this is so, then Allah Most High must perform this act within the soul of whichever of His servants He has chosen, through some intermediary. Yet this need not necessarily be an utterance created by Him. Rather, it may occur through an angel, or it may be revelation—that is, without an utterance that He creates. Instead, He acts upon the hearer in such a way that the meaning is disclosed to him.

“It may also occur through an utterance that Allah creates in the hearing of the listener whom He singles out to receive His speech.

“These three modes are indicated by His words, Most High:

‘It is not for any human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from