word without a vigilant observer standing ready.” The word lafz may refer to the act itself, or it may refer to the actual words uttered by the speaker. This is like the word “Quran,” which may denote the verbal noun—recitation—or the speech being recited.

Allah Most High says:

“It is for Us to gather it and to recite it. So when We have recited it, follow its recitation.”

Here, qur’ān is a verbal noun, as indicated by Ibn ‘Abbās’s explanation of the verse: “It is for Us to gather it in your heart, then for you to recite it with your tongue. When Gabriel recites it, listen to his recitation. Then it is for Us to explain it.”

The word “Quran” may also refer to the actual speech being recited, as when He says:

“When the Quran is recited, listen to it and remain silent.”

And:

“Indeed, this Quran guides to what is most upright.”

Allah Most High also says:

“Had We sent down this Quran upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and split apart from fear of Allah.”

And He says:

“Say: If mankind and the jinn came together to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce its like.”

There are many similar examples.

This being so, when someone says, “My utterance is the very speech of Allah,” if he means the act of uttering, he is mistaken. His actual movements are not Allah’s speech, and no one who understands what he is saying would claim this. But if he means the “latter” sense, then his meaning is that this Quran which he recites is the very speech of Allah. This is what people mean when they say: “What is recited by