that the reproach was directed at him because he was the judge of the school yet had not defended his fellows, and that this was what Shaykh Kamāl al-Dīn intended. Chief Judge Najm al-Dīn became angry and said:

“Bear witness that I have resigned.”

He then began recounting the qualities that entitled him to precedence and justified his appointment, and his restraint from speaking ill of those present, calling upon the sultan’s deputy to bear witness to this. I addressed him in words affirming my esteem for him and his fitness to continue performing his duties in these circumstances.

When we reached the passage concerning the Quran:

“Faith in Him includes believing that the Quran is the speech of Allah, uncreated. From Him it originated, and to Him it returns,”

some of them disputed the statement, “From Him it originated, and to Him it returns,” and asked for an explanation.

I said:

This statement is authentically transmitted from the early generations. For example, ʿAmr ibn Dīnār reported:

“For seventy years, I have known people to say: ‘Allah is the Creator, and everything besides Him is created, except the Quran, for it is the speech of Allah, uncreated. From Him it originated, and to Him it returns.’”

Several scholars have compiled the reports concerning this from the Prophet, the Companions, and their successors, including the hadith scholars Abū al-Fadl ibn Nāsir and Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Maqdisī.

As for its meaning, their statement, “From Him it originated,” means that He is the One who spoke it and sent it down from Himself. It is not as the Jahmiyyah claim: that it was created in al-hawā or elsewhere, or that it originated with someone other than Him.

As for “to Him it returns,” it will be taken away by night, at the end of time, from the written copies of the Quran and from people’s hearts, so that no