the Quran consists of letters and sound, or is neither letters nor sound, is—in either case—an innovation that arose after the third century. I said: “This is my answer.”

This question had been sent by a group of obstinate, Jahmī-leaning opponents, some of whom were present at the gathering. When the answer reached them, it silenced them. They had imagined that if I answered with what they supposed Ahl al-Sunnah held, they would achieve their aim of discrediting me; and if I answered with their own position, they would achieve their aim of securing my agreement. But when they received an answer setting out the distinction upheld by Ahl al-Sunnah—neither what they themselves maintained nor what they attributed to Ahl al-Sunnah, though some ignorant people might say it—they were confounded.

The answer also stated that the entire Quran, its letters and its meanings, is Allah’s speech. “Quran” does not designate the letters alone or the meanings alone.

During the discussion, I said to Sadr al-Dīn ibn al-Wakīl—to expose his many contradictions, his failure to adhere to a single position, and his pursuit of discord and division among Muslims—“I have a statement of creed by Shaykh Abū al-Bayān. It states: ‘Whoever says that a single letter of the Quran is created has disbelieved.’ You have written upon it in your own hand that this is the position of al-Shāfiʿī and the leading scholars among his followers, and that you hold it as your belief before Allah.”

He acknowledged this, whereupon Shaykh Kamāl al-Dīn ibn al-Zamlakānī challenged him on it. Ibn al-Wakīl said: “This is al-Shāfiʿī’s explicit statement.” He questioned him repeatedly about this. When we assembled at the second gathering, he mentioned to Ibn al-Wakīl that Ibn Dirbās had transmitted in the book