The underlying intent of all these groups is sound, except for those among them who used their statement to arrive at a false conclusion. Such was the Jahmiyyah’s assertion that the name is other than the one named. They used this to argue that Allah’s names are other than Him. They then said that whatever is other than Allah is created and separate from Him. Accordingly, Allah Most High would not have named Himself with any name, nor uttered any of His names, nor would He have speech that He Himself had spoken. Rather, His speech would consist only of something created and separate from Him.

When the early generations recognized that these people’s intent was false, they rejected their unqualified assertions that Allah’s speech is other than Allah, that Allah’s knowledge is other than Allah, and similar statements. This is because the expression “other” is ambiguous: it may mean something separate from another, or something that is neither identical to another nor separate from it. Thus, if someone says that it is other than Him in order to make it separate from Him, both meanings would be correct, even if the wording falls short.

Likewise, the imams rejected the statement, “My utterance of the Quran is created,” as well as, “My utterance of the Quran is uncreated.” They said, “Whoever says it is created is a Jahmī, and whoever says it is uncreated is an innovator.” They said the same regarding “recitation and reading,” because utterance, recitation, and reading may refer to the action denoted by the verbal noun—that is, the servant’s act. The acts of Allah’s servants are created. Whoever declares any of their acts, voices, or other attributes to be uncreated is therefore an innovator.

“Utterance” may also mean the very words uttered, just as recitation and reading may mean the actual speech being recited—namely, the Quran itself. And whoever says that the speech of