If, however, he says, “Allah created it in something other than Himself,” then reasoned inquiry and analogy necessarily oblige him to regard every instance of speech that Allah created in another as the speech of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. He cannot distinguish between the two. He would thus make his own speech the speech of Allah, and would make utterances of disbelief and obscenity, and every utterance condemned by Allah and by its speaker, the speech of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. This is impossible: he has no way to establish or maintain it, for the enormity, disgrace, and disbelief of anyone asserting it are plain. Exalted is Allah above that!

If he says, “He created it as something subsisting independently in its own right,” this is an impossible and false claim for which he can find no basis in analogy, reasoned inquiry, or rational understanding. Speech can only come from a speaker, just as will can only belong to one who wills, knowledge to one who knows, and power to one who is powerful. No speech is ever seen, nor has any ever been seen, subsisting independently and speaking by itself.

This is neither intelligible nor known, nor can it be established through reasoned inquiry, analogy, or anything else. Since these alternatives make it impossible for His speech to be created, it is established that it is an attribute of Allah, and all of Allah’s attributes are uncreated. Thus Bishr’s position was refuted.’

“Al-Ma’mūn said: ‘Well done, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz!’

“Bishr said: ‘Ask about another issue; perhaps something will emerge from our discussion.’

“I replied: ‘I shall leave this issue and ask about another.’

“He said: ‘Ask.’”