It was further put to this group that commands, prohibitions, and statements are relational attributes of speech, not its types or subdivisions, and that Allah’s speech is a single meaning: when expressed in Arabic, it is the Quran; in Hebrew, it is the Torah; and in Syriac, it is the Gospel. Most people told them, “This is self-evidently false.” Likewise, the earlier group had claimed that He created speech in the air and thereby became one who speaks it, and that a speaker is whoever brings speech into existence, even in an essence other than his own. Most people told them, “This is self-evidently false.”

The majority across all groups held that speech denotes both wording and meaning together, just as the designation “speaking human being” refers to both soul and body together. When it is applied to either one alone, this requires a contextual indication. The meanings of speech are diverse, just as its expressions are diverse, and are not confined to knowledge and will—even though meanings tend more toward unity and cohesion, while expressions tend more toward multiplicity and separation.

These people accepted the consequence that the letters of the Quran are created, even though what they regarded as Allah’s speech was not created. They distinguished between Allah’s Book and His speech, saying, “Allah’s Book consists of the letters and is created, while Allah’s speech is their meaning and is uncreated.” These people and the earlier group thus agree that the Quran which the earlier group declared created is indeed created. These people differed, however, over where these letters were created: were they created in the air, or within Gabriel himself? Or was it Gabriel who brought them into existence, or Muhammad?