that have caused division and disagreement within the community. When a person strives to follow the Messenger and believe what he brought, but errs concerning subtle matters that perplex even intelligent believers, Allah forgives his errors, in fulfilment of His words:

“Our Lord, do not take us to task if we forget or make a mistake.”

It is established in the Sahīh that Allah said: “I have done so.”

As for the statement:

“And whoever says, ‘Allah’s speech is free of the marks of temporal origination, since sound and letters necessarily originate in time; just as His essence is exalted above the marks of createdness, so too is His true speech.’”

He should be told: There is no disagreement among Muslims—indeed, among the adherents of all religions and other rational people—that the Creator is free of the marks of temporal origination. His beginninglessness is self-evident, so there can be no proof that He came into being. A “mark” means a sign or proof.

However, the majority of people dispute your position concerning sound and letters. None of the various groups has agreed with the Kullābiyyah on their position: neither the Jahmiyyah, the Muʿtazilah, the Dirāriyyah, the Najjāriyyah, the Karrāmiyyah, nor the Sālimiyyah; neither the majority of the Murjiʾah and the Shia, nor the majority of the scholars of hadith, jurisprudence and Sufism; nor the philosophers—whether theists or naturalists, in all their different varieties.

Among their opponents are those who say that letters originate and are created in a locus separate from Allah, just as the Kullābiyyah themselves say. But these opponents say: “This is Allah’s speech; Allah has no