However, this originated in their dispute over the “question of utterance.” The explicitly recorded position of Imam Ahmad and other scholars of his standing is that whoever says that uttering and reciting the Quran are created is a Jahmī, while whoever says that they are uncreated is an innovator. This is because “utterance and recitation” may mean the words uttered and recited, which are Allah’s speech. Whoever regards Allah’s speech, which He sent down to His Prophet, as created is a Jahmī. These expressions may also refer to the act itself and to human attributes. Whoever regards human actions and voices as uncreated is therefore a misguided innovator.

This is also how al-Ashʿarī reported the position of the people of the Sunnah and hadith in his book al-Maqālāt (Accounts of Doctrines). He said:

“They say that the Quran is uncreated speech, and that discussing the positions concerning suspension of judgment and utterance is an innovation. Whoever adopts either the position concerning utterance or that of suspending judgment is an innovator. According to them, one should neither say that uttering the Quran is created nor say that it is uncreated.”

None of the imams or the early generations said that Allah does not speak with a voice. Rather, it is firmly established from more than one of them that Allah speaks with a voice. This is conveyed in well-known reports from the early generations and the imams. They would relate the reports mentioning Allah’s speaking with a voice, and none of them rejected those reports. Indeed, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ahmad said:

“I said to my father, ‘Some people say that Allah does not speak with a voice.’ He replied, ‘My son, these people are Jahmīs; all their arguments revolve around denying the divine attributes.’”

He then mentioned some of the reports transmitted on this subject. Al-Bukhārī’s statements in The Creation of Actions explicitly affirm that Allah speaks with a voice and distinguish between Allah’s voice and human voices. He cited several hadiths from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, on this subject. Likewise, in his Sahīh, he included a chapter on the words of the Most High: