to the people, “Take me and my mother as gods besides Allah”?’ Is it not Allah who says this?

They said: “Allah brings something into being, and it speaks on His behalf, just as He brought it into being and it spoke to Moses.”

We said: “Then who says:

‘We will surely question those to whom messengers were sent, and We will surely question the messengers.’

‘Then We will surely recount to them with knowledge’?

Is it not Allah who does the questioning?”

They said: “In all these cases, He merely brings something into being, and it speaks on Allah’s behalf.”

We said: “You have fabricated a monstrous lie against Allah by claiming that He does not speak. You have thereby likened Him to the idols worshipped besides Allah, for idols neither speak nor move nor pass from one place to another.”

When the argument prevailed against him, he said: “Allah may indeed speak, but His speech is created.”

We said: “You have likened Allah to His creation by claiming that His speech is created. According to your doctrine, there was a time when He did not speak. Likewise, the children of Adam existed without speaking until He created speech for them. You have thus combined disbelief with likening Allah to His creation. Exalted is Allah far above such a description!

“Rather, we say that Allah has always spoken whenever He wills. We do not say that He existed without speaking until He created speech. Nor do we say that He once did not know until He created knowledge. Nor do we say that He once existed without power until He created power for Himself. Nor do we say that He once had no light until He created light for Himself. Nor do we say that He once existed without greatness until He created greatness for Himself.”

He then spoke at length affirming the divine attributes and explaining that they do not contradict Allah’s oneness.