the angel, He denied that it was the word of the devil. Likewise, He says in Surah al-Shuʿarāʾ:

“The Trustworthy Spirit has brought it down upon your heart,”

through to His words:

“It was not the devils who brought it down. It is not fitting for them, nor are they able to do so,”

and then to His words:

“Shall I inform you upon whom the devils descend? They descend upon every sinful liar. They give ear, and most of them are liars.”

He attributes it to the human messenger in His words:

“So I swear by what you see and what you do not see: indeed, it is the word of a noble messenger. It is not the word of a poet—little do you believe! Nor is it the word of a soothsayer—little do you take heed! It is a revelation from the Lord of all worlds.”

He thus denied that it was the word of a poet or a soothsayer, both of whom are human. Likewise, at the end of Surah al-Shuʿarāʾ, He mentions that the devils descend upon every sinful liar, such as the soothsayers who lend them their ears, and that poets are followed by those who have gone astray.

Since these two classes of people might be confused with a human messenger, His exclusion of both makes it clear that the noble messenger is the one chosen from among humankind. For Allah chooses messengers from among the angels and from among people. Likewise, in Surah al-Takwīr, since a devil might be confused with an angel, His denial that it is the word of an accursed devil makes it clear that the messenger mentioned is the one chosen from among the angels.

Its attribution to one messenger on one occasion and to the other on another is evidence that this is an attribution of conveyance and delivery, not of originating or composing any part of it. Yet some Ashʿarī innovators maintain that its letters originated with Gabriel or Muhammad. In half of their doctrine, they thus echo those Arab polytheists who said, “It is the word of a human being,” claiming that he composed it