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It is known that things have an existence in “external reality,” an existence in “minds,” an existence on “the tongue,” and an existence through “the fingers”—that is, external, cognitive, verbal, and written existence.
Some have then said that external and cognitive existence do not vary with differences of times, places, and nations, unlike verbal and written existence, since languages differ among nations, as with Arabic, Persian, the language of the Romans, and Turkish.
Some invoke this distinction when discussing “the speech of Allah Most High,” maintaining that it is the meaning that does not vary among nations, rather than the letters, which do vary. This is the position of the Kullābīs and Ashʿarīs. They add that His scriptures differ only in their wording: His speech in Hebrew is the Torah, and in Arabic it is the Quran. Likewise, they say that the “eternal meaning” can be a command, a prohibition, or a statement: these are incidental attributes of it, not distinct kinds of it.
Some state this view without qualification in works on the principles of jurisprudence, in discussions of languages. Others, such as Abū Hāmid, mention it when discussing the name and the thing named, and Allah’s Most Beautiful Names.