that, and claimed that one must defer to reason in this matter. Yet reason has driven you back, humbled, into agreement with the text.’

He said, ‘This requires reflection,’ and broke off the discussion.

Abū Nasr said:

‘Allah has always possessed the attribute of speech, for speech is a praiseworthy attribute of a living being who acts, while its opposite is a deficiency. Allah is free of such deficiencies.’

He continued at length until he said:

‘What we have stated establishes that the Quran is divided and clearly delineated, comprising parts and portions, verses, words, and letters. Anything otherwise is not the revealed Quran in which the Muslims believed and which the unbelievers denied. What is read consists of surahs, verses, words, and letters, as does what is memorized, written, and recited. It is in clear Arabic, revealed in the tongue of the Arabs and the tongue of Quraysh. By “tongue” here we mean language, not the tongue composed of flesh, blood, and veins. Exalted is Allah above that; too majestic is He to be described except as He has described Himself, and free is He of any likeness.’

He said:

‘Following this section, we shall include a section discussing the letters of the Quran, followed by another on sound and what has been reported concerning it in the Quran and hadith. Everyone of sound understanding knows through sensory perception and observation, before drawing any inference, that the Arabic Quran consists of letters. There is no difference between someone who denies this and someone who denies the senses and their role as foundations of knowledge and means of perception.’