recites it in his own voice. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:

“He is not one of us who does not recite the Quran melodiously.”

Ahmad, al-Shāfi‘ī, and others said: “This means beautifying it with one’s voice.” Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: “He beautifies it with his own voice.” Ahmad thus made clear that the reciter beautifies the Quran with his own voice.

The second reason is that the early generations said: “The Quran is Allah’s speech, sent down and uncreated.” They also said: “He has always spoken whenever He wills.” They thus explained that Allah’s speech is eternal—that is, His speech as a kind is eternal and has always existed. None of them said that a particular utterance itself is eternal, nor did any of them say: “The Quran is eternal.” Rather, they said: “It is Allah’s speech, sent down and uncreated.”

Since Allah spoke the Quran by His will, the Quran is His speech, sent down from Him and uncreated. Yet this does not mean that it has existed eternally alongside Allah, even though Allah has always spoken whenever He wills, so that His speech as a kind is eternal.

Whoever understands the statements of the early generations and distinguishes between these positions will be freed from the doubts surrounding these difficult questions over which people throughout the world have been in turmoil.

Whoever says that all the letters of the alphabet are created and that Allah Most High’s speech is created has expressed a view contrary to sound reason and authentic transmitted evidence. Likewise, whoever says that people’s own voices, their ink, or anything of that sort is eternal has contradicted the statements of the early generations. The falsity of his view is apparent to everyone. He has introduced an innovated position that none of the imams of the Muslims ever held, nor has any major group among