And some of them also say that the servant’s attribute—namely, his faith—is beginningless. Some extend this to his words, but not his deeds. Others say that even his commanded deeds are beginningless, though not his prohibited deeds. Some suspend judgment regarding prohibited deeds, while others say that all human deeds, good and evil alike, are beginningless, because they fall under divine legislation and decree, and divine legislation and decree are beginningless. This fails to distinguish between the Lord’s act of legislating and what He prescribes, or between His decree and what He decrees.

These people say that human deeds are beginningless, meaning not the movements themselves, but what those movements produce, such as what comes on the Day of Resurrection as the reward for their deeds. The imams—Ahmad ibn Hanbal and others—have explicitly stated that all of this is created. These people thus went to excess in asserting that deeds are beginningless in order to carry their position on faith through consistently.

“Another group” said: If these letters, which are sounds heard from the servant, are beginningless, then all audible letters are beginningless. They therefore said that all human speech is beginningless except for its arrangement. Some of them said that all sounds are beginningless, even the sounds of animals and whatever sounds come from human beings. They also said that the movements of the tongue when reciting the Quran are beginningless, as are the movements of the fingers when writing the Quran.

Some of them said that the “ink” is created, but the shapes of the letters are beginningless. Others suspended judgment regarding the ink, saying: We remain silent about it; even though it is created, it should not be called created. Still others said that the ink itself is beginningless.

Some among these people and others maintained that “the souls of human beings are beginningless.” Thus they came to say: