Hanbal said elsewhere: ‘I heard Abū ‘Abd Allāh say: “Allah has always possessed speech, and the Quran is the speech of Allah, uncreated.”’”

Judge Abū Ya‘lā said:

“Ahmad said in the section refuting the Jahmiyyah and the heretics: ‘Likewise, Allah speaks as He wills, without our saying that He has a cavity, a mouth, or lips.’”

He said later:

“Rather, we say that Allah has always spoken whenever He wills. We do not say that He existed without speaking until He created.”

[‘Abd Allāh ibn Hāmid’s statement in Fundamentals of Religion]

Abū ‘Abd Allāh ibn Hāmid said in his book on the fundamentals of religion:

“Among the things that must be believed and affirmed are that Allah possesses speech, that His speech is eternal, and that He has always possessed speech, being described by this attribute at all times. His speech is eternal, not originated, like His knowledge and power.”

He said:

“It may also follow from the school’s position that speech is an attribute of the speaker, that He has always been described by it and speaks as He wills and when He wills. We do not say that He is