by Allah and used by Him in speaking, as the texts affirm. Indeed, they are not even like it, for nothing is like Allah—in His essence, His attributes, or His actions. His knowledge is not like the knowledge of created beings, nor is His power like theirs, His speech like their speech, His calling like their calling, or His voice like their voices.
Whoever says of the Quran that Muslims recite, “It is not Allah’s speech,” or, “It is someone else’s speech,” is a heretic and a misguided innovator.
Whoever says that the voices of the servants or the ink with which the Quran is written are eternal and without beginning is likewise a heretic and a misguided innovator. Rather, this Quran is Allah’s speech, recorded in written copies. It is Allah’s speech conveyed from Him and heard from the reciters, not heard directly from Him.
A person sees the sun, the moon, and the stars directly, and also sees them in water or a mirror. The latter is seeing through an intermediary, whereas the former is unqualified, direct seeing. Likewise, speech is heard directly from the one who utters it, and indirectly from the one who conveys it on his behalf. In both cases, what one seeks to hear is the speaker’s speech, just as in both cases of seeing, what one seeks to see is the object itself.
Whoever understands how these two situations coincide and differ, and what they share and do not share, will be rid of the confusion that afflicts many people concerning this matter. One group has said: “What is heard is Allah’s speech; what is heard is the servant’s voice; and his voice is created. Therefore, Allah’s speech is created.” This is ignorance, for it is heard from