evil found among them is more abundant among others; for it is authentically reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“You will surely follow the ways of those before you, as precisely as one arrow-feather matches another, until, even if they entered a lizard’s hole, you would enter it.” They asked, “The Jews and Christians?” He replied, “Who else?”

He also said:

“You will surely adopt the ways of the nations before you, handspan by handspan and cubit by cubit.” They asked, “The Persians and Romans?” He replied, “Who else among the peoples could it be?”

Dispelling these people’s misconception requires discussing whether “letters and names” are created or uncreated, although we have already touched upon this. Rather, we shall proceed on the assumption that they are uncreated, and nevertheless say: it must be affirmed unequivocally that human speech is created. This statement is made without qualification and requires no distinction such as saying, “Its ordering and composition are created, but its letters and names are uncreated,” or, “Its construction is created, but its individual elements are uncreated.” Such distinctions are unnecessary.

This is because a speaker’s speech comprises both his words and their meanings, as we have explained previously. “Speech” does not designate words alone or meanings alone. Generally, wherever the terms “speech” and “saying,” or expressions such as “This is so-and-so’s speech” or “so-and-so’s speech,” occur in the Quran, the Sunnah, and the statements of the early generations and leading scholars—indeed, among all other peoples, Arab and non-Arab—their unqualified use encompasses both wording and meaning together