say that the Lord’s voice has come to dwell within the servant. Others say that it has become manifest in him without dwelling within him. Others say, “I say neither that it has become manifest nor that it has come to dwell within him.” Others say that the voice heard is uncreated, or eternal. Still others say that two voices are heard from him: one created and one uncreated.

Among those who say that it is heard from Allah are those who maintain that one hears the eternal meaning subsisting in the Lord’s essence while also hearing the newly produced voice. These say that one hears both the eternal and the newly produced, just as the others say that one hears two voices, one eternal and one newly produced.

Another group said, “People have not heard Allah’s speech, either from Allah or from anyone else.” They argued that speech can be heard only from its speaker. Some of these said that a reproduction of it is heard; others said that an expression of it is heard, not a reproduction. Among those who say that it is created are those who said, “Two things are heard: the created speech; the one who created it; and the servant’s voice.”

All these positions are invented innovations. The early generations held none of them, and all are false according to both revelation and reason. Yet those who held them were driven to them by ambiguity in words and confusion over meanings.

When someone says, “I heard Zayd’s speech,” or, “This is Zayd’s speech,” this refers to the speech he uttered, in both its wording and its meaning, whether it is heard from him or from someone conveying it on his behalf. The distinction between the two situations is nevertheless understood: when it is heard from him, it is heard in his voice; when it is heard from someone else, it is heard in the voice of the person conveying it, not in the original speaker’s voice, even though the wording is that of the original speaker.

With an accompanying indication, one may also say, “This is so-and-so’s speech,” even when it has been translated into different wording. Thus Allah recounts in Arabic the speech of people from the various nations whose words He relates, even though they originally spoke in Hebrew or Syriac