These men differ, however, from the “Sabaean philosophers,” who maintain that the world is eternal and that prophethood is a perfection that emanates upon the prophet’s soul. These speculative theologians possess more of the truth and adhere more closely to rational and revealed evidence, because their hearts have been illuminated by the light of Islam and the Quran, even though they have gone astray regarding much of what the messengers brought. Nevertheless, they are better than those philosophers in other respects in which they agree with Ahl al-Sunnah.

Yet they agreed with those philosophers that Allah has not spoken, just as they agreed with them that He has neither knowledge nor power nor any other attribute. They considered that affirming Him as one who speaks would entail His being a body, and a body has a beginning. This is because speech is among the attributes indicating that its bearer has a beginning. Indeed, in their view, it indicates that the speaker has a beginning more decisively than other attributes do. Moreover, Allah, in their view, depends upon something external that others do not depend upon; and speech involves an ordering and succession of elements not found in other attributes.

When they saw that the messengers unanimously affirmed that He speaks, and that the Quran abounds in affirmations of this, they would sometimes say, “He speaks figuratively, not literally.” This was their initial position, when, despite their innovation, they still retained their natural disposition, before resorting to obstinacy and denial. Then they saw how objectionable this was and said, “Rather, He truly speaks.” Some of their speculative theologians would even claim consensus on this. Yet this is not what they actually hold. Rather, the true substance and foundation of their doctrine, as understood by those who knew it and devised it, is that Allah does not speak. They said, “A speaker is someone who produces speech, even if it is in a locus separate from himself.” Thus they interpreted the word “speaker” in the language