only said, “Our utterance of it is uncreated.” They did not say, “eternal.”

Then those who misrepresented their doctrine came and said: “Our utterance of it is eternal; our utterance of it consists of our voices; therefore, our voices when uttering it are eternal.” Imam Ahmad and all the other imams—including his companions who knew him personally, others, and the imams who came after them—reject these “four levels.” They reject saying, “My utterance of it is uncreated,” so how much more would they reject, “My utterance of it is eternal”? And what, then, of saying, “My voice when uttering it is uncreated,” or, “My voice when uttering it is eternal,” or, “Part of the sound heard is eternal,” and similar statements?

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Whoever reflects on Imam Ahmad’s statements on this subject will find them among the soundest and clearest explanations. He will also find that each group claiming adherence to the Sunnah has held fast to certain statements among them. Yet something of the Sunnah elsewhere may remain hidden from one group while becoming clear to another, and so the former denies it.

The disputes among people throughout the world and the immense, almost unmanageable confusion concerning this subject stem from “two fundamental issues”: the question of Allah’s speaking the Quran and the rest of His speech, and the question of His servants’ uttering Allah’s speech.