“It is not created like the speech of human beings; it is the speech of Allah. Yet its ascription to Allah is only figurative, for Allah is its creator, and so its relationship to Him is merely that of a created thing to its Creator.”

We reply: “You have lied. Ascription to Allah falls into two categories—abstract meanings and concrete entities.

1. Ascription of meanings: This includes speech. To ascribe such meanings to Allah is to attach an attribute to the One described. Speech, hearing, sight, power, and will are all attributes; they do not subsist independently but in the One who possesses them.

2. Ascription of entities: Examples are ‘the House of Allah,’ ‘the She-camel of Allah,’ or ‘the servant of Allah.’ Here a created object is linked to its Creator, the benefit of the linkage being honor and ennoblement.

Therefore the speech of Allah is uncreated. This rebuts the Jahmiyyah and the Muʿtazilah, who maintain that the Qur’an is created because, in their view, Allah does not speak at all. Pursuing their program of denying every divine attribute—supposedly to avoid anthropomorphism—they failed to distinguish between the attributes of the Creator and those of the creature. Fleeing from an imagined resemblance, they plunged into the condemned abyss of negation, which is far worse—like one who seeks refuge from the searing heat only to fall into the flames.

Had they affirmed what Allah affirmed for Himself and recognized the clear difference between the attributes of the Creator and those of created beings, they would have reached the very core of truth and found peace.