speech; but the question concerns the Quran, which consists of “wording and meaning”: is all of it Allah’s speech? Or is its wording Allah’s speech, but not its meaning? Or is its meaning Allah’s speech, but not its wording?

It is necessarily known in the religion of Islam that all of it is Allah’s speech. Allah Most High has said:

“When We replace one verse with another—and Allah knows best what He sends down—they say, ‘You are only a fabricator.’ Rather, most of them do not know. Say, ‘The Holy Spirit has brought it down from your Lord in truth’”—up to His words—“We certainly know that they say, ‘It is only a human being who teaches him.’ The language of the one they allude to is foreign, whereas this is clear Arabic.”

Some of the polytheists used to say that Muhammad merely learned the Quran from a slave belonging to Banū al-Hadramī. So Allah Most High said that the language of the person to whom they attributed the Quran was foreign, whereas this was clear Arabic. This demonstrates that Muhammad conveyed the Quran in both its wording and its meaning; abstract meanings alone were not sent down to him. Had that been the case, it would have been possible to say that he received meanings from this foreigner and then expressed them in his own language. Thus, when Allah stated, “The language of the one they allude to is foreign, whereas this is clear Arabic,” after saying, “Say, ‘The Holy Spirit has brought it down from your Lord in truth,’” this indicated that the Holy Spirit brought it down in this clear Arabic language.

The Seventh Point

Allah’s speech, like all other speech, may be heard from the speaker himself, just as Moses heard Allah’s speech from Allah, and the Companions heard the speech of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, from him. At other times, it is heard from someone conveying it on the speaker’s behalf, just as the Muslims heard the Quran from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and from those who conveyed it on his behalf.