that the Quran in its entirety—its letters and its meanings—is Allah’s speech. None of it is the speech of anyone else; rather, He sent it down to His Messenger. The term “Quran” does not refer to meaning alone or to letters alone, but to both together. Likewise, all other speech consists neither of letters alone nor of meanings alone, just as a human being endowed with articulate speech is neither a soul alone nor a body alone, but both together.

Allah Most High speaks with sound, as established by authentic hadiths, and that sound is unlike the voices of His servants, whether the reciter’s voice or anyone else’s. Nothing is like Allah, whether in His essence, His attributes, or His actions.

Just as His knowledge, power, and life do not resemble the knowledge, power, and life of a created being, so His speech does not resemble created speech. Its meanings do not resemble the meanings of created speech, nor do its letters resemble its letters; nor does the Lord’s voice resemble the servant’s voice. Whoever likens Allah to His creation has deviated concerning His names and signs, and whoever denies what He has affirmed of Himself has deviated concerning His names and signs.

In my detailed, comprehensive response, I have set out the spectrum of views held by people throughout the world on this matter. The philosophers claim that Allah’s speech has no existence except within the souls of the prophets: meanings emanate to them from the Active Intellect and become letters within their souls. Likewise, in their view, Allah’s angels are the luminous forms that arise within the souls of the prophets. This is akin to the statement of the philosopher of Quraysh, al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah:

“This is nothing but the speech of a human being.”

Thus, what their position really amounts to is that the Quran is the composition of