that he is an intermediary and an envoy in conveying it. Speech is properly attributed to the one whose attribute it is and who originates and produces it, not to one who utters it merely to convey and deliver it. This applies to all human speech—how much more so to Allah’s speech?

This follows the well-known interpretation, which accords with the apparent meaning of the Quran: the messenger in one passage is Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and in the other, Gabriel, peace be upon him. According to those who take the messenger in both passages to be Gabriel, the second response applies. This affirmation is, in fact, evidence for those who say that he merely utters Allah’s speech and speaks His words, for Allah describes the messenger as speaking the words of Allah with which He sent him. The meaning is certainly intended here, just as the wording is also intended.

Furthermore, these people regard the speech that is Allah’s attribute as a single meaning, which is command, prohibition, statement, and inquiry. They hold that, if expressed in Arabic, it is the Quran; if expressed in Hebrew, it is the Torah; and if expressed in Syriac, it is the Gospel. The overwhelming majority of rational people agree that the falsity of this is self-evident.

The “second point” on which they differ from the people of the Sunnah and the community is their assertion that the Quran sent down to earth is not Allah’s speech—neither its letters nor its meanings. Rather, in their view, it is created. They say that it is an expression of the meaning subsisting within Him, because