, since you have made this expression identical to Gabriel’s own expression. This, then, invalidates the very basis of your position.

Know that the doctrine of “expression” originated with Abū Muhammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Saʿīd ibn Kullāb. He was the first in Islam to say: “The meaning of the Quran is Allah’s speech, but its letters are not Allah’s speech.” He thus adopted half the position of the Muʿtazilah and half the position of Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah. He had affirmed Allah’s attributes, opposing the Muʿtazilah on this matter. He also affirmed that Allah is above the Throne and distinct from created beings, establishing this more thoroughly than his later followers did.

People had already debated whether conveying another’s speech should be called a reproduction of it. Most of the Muʿtazilah said that it was a reproduction of it. Ibn Kullāb therefore said: “The Arabic Quran is a reproduction of Allah’s speech; it is not Allah’s speech.”

Abū al-Hasan al-Ashʿarī came after him and followed his approach in affirming most of the attributes, and likewise on the question of the Quran. However, he took issue with his description of it as a reproduction, saying: “A reproduction must resemble what it reproduces. This therefore accords with the position of the Muʿtazilah. What accords with our position is to say that it is an expression of Allah’s speech, because the speech is not of the same kind as the expression.”

Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah objected to several aspects of their position.