the reciters is the very speech of Allah; what we hear from the reciters is the very speech of Allah; and what is recited in prayer is the very speech of Allah.” No one intends thereby to identify people’s movements with His speech itself.

Moreover, whoever says this agrees with the words of Allah Most High:

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

Indeed, it is necessarily known as part of the religion of Islam that what Muslims recite and write in their copies of the Quran is the speech of Allah, not the speech of anyone else. Sometimes it is heard directly from Him, as Moses son of ‘Imrān heard it; at other times, it is heard from those who receive it from Him, as the Companions heard it from the Messenger. Thus, what we hear is Allah’s speech, received from Him and heard from the one conveying it on His behalf.

Allah Most High says:

“This Quran has been revealed to me so that I may warn you with it and whoever it reaches.”

And He says:

“O Messenger, convey what has been sent down to you from your Lord. If you do not, you will not have conveyed His message.”

And He says:

“So that He may know that they have conveyed the messages of their Lord.”

People know that speech belongs to the one who first uttered it, issuing its commands and relating its reports—not to someone who merely conveys and delivers it from another. People recite the Quran, but it is not their own speech; rather, it is speech they recite through their own actions and voices. If, when people narrate, convey and recite the speech of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, or of anyone else, it remains the speech of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, or of the other speakers who uttered it—and the Prophet