first uttered it, not to the one who uttered it merely to convey and transmit it. Moses heard Allah’s speech from Allah without an intermediary, whereas the believers hear it from one another. Moses’ hearing was therefore unqualified, without an intermediary, whereas other people’s hearing is qualified by an intermediary.

As Allah Most High says:

“It is not for any human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation, or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger who reveals, by His permission, whatever He wills.”

He thus distinguished between speaking from behind a veil—as He spoke to Moses—and speaking through a messenger—as He spoke to the prophets by sending a messenger to them. People know that when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, spoke, he uttered the words, with their letters and meanings, in his own voice. Those who convey his words then convey them through their own movements and voices, as he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“May Allah brighten the face of a person who hears a hadith from us and conveys it as he heard it.”

The listener conveys his hadith as he heard it, but in his own voice, not the Messenger’s voice. The speech is the Messenger’s speech, which he uttered in his own voice; the transmitter conveys the Messenger’s speech, but in his own voice. If this is understood regarding someone who conveys the speech of a created being, it applies all the more to the speech of the Creator.

For this reason, Allah Most High says:

“If any of the polytheists seeks your protection, grant him protection so that he may hear the speech of Allah.”

And the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Beautify the Quran with your voices.”

He thus identified the speech as the Creator’s speech, while identifying the voice in which the servant recites it as the reciter’s voice. The voices of the servants are not identical to the voice used in calling