The fifth answer is as follows:

The evidence from revelation and reason establishing that Allah speaks also establishes that He speaks with a voice. There are four views concerning what the term “speech” denotes. Some say it denotes wording that conveys meaning. Others say it denotes the meaning conveyed by the wording. Others say it denotes each separately, with a distinct sense for each. Still others say it encompasses both together. This last view is that of the early generations, the jurists, and the majority of scholars.

Thus, when someone says, “So-and-so spoke,” the statement, without further qualification, is understood to refer to both wording and meaning together. As the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Allah has pardoned my ummah for the thoughts that occur within them, so long as they neither speak of them nor act upon them.”

He also said:

“Two phrases are light on the tongue, heavy in the balance, and beloved to the Most Merciful: Glory and praise be to Allah; glory be to Allah, the Magnificent.”

He also said:

“The truest words spoken by a poet are the words of Labīd: ‘Indeed, everything other than Allah is vain.’”

There are many similar examples. Thus, when used without qualification, “speech” encompasses both wording and meaning together. If meaning alone or wording alone is called speech, this is only with a qualification indicating that particular sense. This has been explained at length elsewhere, as has the fact that speech, when mentioned without qualification, comprises both wording and meaning together. The Quran and hadith abound in passages affirming the speech of Allah Most High; what is understood from them, therefore, is the affirmation of both wording and meaning for Allah.