with the Quran to enemy territory.” Allah Most High says:

“Rather, it is a glorious Quran,
in a Preserved Tablet.”

The ink with which the Quran is written is created, and the voice with which it is recited is the servant’s voice. The servant, his voice, his movements, and all his other attributes are created. Thus, the Quran that Muslims recite is the speech of the Creator, while the voice with which the servant recites it is the reciter’s voice. As Allah Most High says:

“If any of the polytheists seeks your protection, grant him protection so that he may hear the speech of Allah, then convey him to his place of safety.”

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Beautify the Quran with your voices.”

He thus made clear that the voices with which the Quran is recited are our voices, while the Quran is Allah’s speech. Hence Ahmad ibn Hanbal and other leading scholars of the Sunnah said that a person beautifies it with his voice, as Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī said to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“Had I known that you were listening, I would have made my recitation truly beautiful for you.”

Thus, the statement of Ahmad and other leading scholars of the Sunnah—that the voice is the servant’s voice—accords with the Book and the Sunnah. Allah Most High says:

“Be moderate in your pace and lower your voice.”

And He says:

“O you who believe, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet.”

And He says:

“Indeed, those who lower their voices in the presence of Allah’s Messenger are those whose hearts Allah has tested for piety.”

And He says:

“Say: If the sea were ink for the words of my Lord, the sea would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even if We brought its like as a replenishment.”

He, glorified be He, thus distinguished between the ink with which His words are written and His words themselves. Thus the sea and any other ink with which the words are written