Abū Ya‘lā and others like him, who said: “Allah’s speech appeared therein, but we do not say that it dwelt therein, because an attribute of the Creator cannot dwell within a created being, nor can the eternal dwell within what has been brought into existence.”

Another group stated without qualification that Allah’s speech dwells within the codex, including Abū Ismā‘īl al-Ansārī al-Harawī—known as Shaykh al-Islām—and others. They said: “This is not the objectionable indwelling that we have denied. Rather, we state without qualification that speech is in the written sheet, but do not say that Allah is in the written sheet or in a person’s breast. Likewise, we state without qualification that His speech dwells therein, without His essence dwelling therein.”

A third group, including Abū ‘Alī ibn Abī Mūsā and others, said: “We neither affirm nor deny indwelling without qualification. Affirming it may suggest that the Lord’s attribute passes into created beings, while denying it may suggest a denial that the Quran was sent down to creation. We therefore use the expressions used in the revealed texts and refrain from expressions whose unqualified use carries objectionable implications because of their ambiguity.”

As for the assertion, “If you say that this is Allah’s very speech, then you have affirmed indwelling; but if you say otherwise, you have adopted our position,” the answer is that the objectionable position here comprises three things. Once these are removed, nothing objectionable remains.

The first is the claim that Allah did not speak the Arabic Quran, but that someone other than Allah, such as Gabriel or Muhammad, brought it into existence, and that Allah created it in something other than Himself.

The second is the claim that Allah’s speech is nothing but a single meaning which is