Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah sanctify his soul—was also asked about two men who disputed concerning “the letters that Allah revealed to Adam.” One said, “They are eternal, without beginning, while their vowel marks and dots are originated.” The other said, “They are not Allah’s speech; they are created, together with their vowel marks and dots. Allah is the Eternal, and His speech originated from Him and will return to Him; it is revealed, not created. Yet He wrote using these letters.” They asked which of them was more correct in his statement and sounder in his belief.

He replied:

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. The foundation of this question is understanding “the speech of Allah Most High.” The position of the early generations of this community and its imams—the Companions, those who followed them in righteousness, and the other imams of the Muslims, including the four imams—is what the Quran and Sunnah indicate and what accords with clear rational evidence: the Quran is Allah’s speech, revealed and not created; it originated from Him and will return to Him. He is the One who spoke the Quran, the Torah, the Gospel, and the rest of His speech; this is not