Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

Concerning 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.”

Here He calls it the speech of Allah, while elsewhere He says:

“Indeed, it is the word of a noble messenger.”

What does this mean? A group of those who maintain that the Quran is an expression of Allah’s speech claim that this supports their position. They then say:

“You believe that Moses—may Allah’s blessings be upon him—truly heard the speech of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, directly from Allah, without any intermediary. Yet you say that what you hear is truly Allah’s speech, although you hear it through intermediaries in different voices. What is the difference between the two?

“You also say that the Quran is an attribute of Allah Most High and that His attributes are without beginning. If you say that this is the very speech of Allah Most High, then you have affirmed divine indwelling, yet you declare those who profess divine indwelling and union to be disbelievers. If you say otherwise, you have adopted our position.”

We ask you for an answer to this upon which we may rely, if Allah Most High wills.

He replied:

All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds. This verse is true, as Allah has stated, and it is not the case that