and the like; such derivatives are not used to describe anything other than that subject. All this is clear and evident. It explains the statement of the early generations and the imams that whoever says Allah created speech in something other than Himself must concede that it is that subject, not Allah, that is described as speaking.

Fourth, Allah emphasized His speaking to Moses by using the verbal noun, saying: taklīman (“directly”). Several scholars have stated that emphasis through the verbal noun rules out a figurative meaning, lest it be supposed that He sent Moses a messenger or wrote him a letter. Rather, He Himself spoke directly to him.

Fifth, by speaking to Moses, Allah favored him over those to whom He did not speak. He said:

“It is not for any human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation, or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger,”

to the end of the verse. Thus, Allah spoke to Moses from behind the veil. He also said:

“O Moses, I have chosen you above the people through My messages and My speaking to you.”

And He said:

“Indeed, We have revealed to you as We revealed to Noah and the prophets after him,”

up to His words:

“And Allah spoke to Moses directly.”

Revelation is what Allah sends down upon the hearts of the prophets without an intermediary. If His speaking to Moses were merely a sound He created in the air, the revelation received by the prophets would have been superior to it: those prophets understood the intended meaning without an intermediary, whereas Moses understood it only through an intermediary. For this reason, the extremist Jahmiyyah among the Ittihādiyyah and their like claim that the inspiration they receive is superior to what Moses son of ʿImrān received. This is one of the gravest forms of disbelief, by the consensus of the Muslims.