and come to reside in another—so how could Allah’s speech do so? Allah Most High says:

“Grave is the word that comes out of their mouths; they speak nothing but a lie.”

He thus states that the word comes out of their mouths, yet it has not become separate from them. Moreover, an attribute does not become separate from that which it describes and come to reside in another, whether it is an attribute of the Creator or of a created being. When people hear the speech of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and then convey it from him, the speech they convey remains the speech of Allah’s Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, although they convey it through their own movements and voices. This applies all the more to the Quran: the speech is the Creator’s speech, while the voice is the reciter’s voice. Allah Most High says:

“If any of the polytheists seeks your protection, grant him protection so that he may hear Allah’s speech.”

And the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Beautify the Quran with your voices.”

Rather, the early generations intended to refute these Jahmiyyah, who claimed that Allah created the Quran in something other than Himself. On their account, it would therefore have originated and come forth from the place in which it was created, not from Allah—just as they say that His speech to Moses came forth from the tree. The early generations and the imams therefore made clear that the Quran originated and came forth from Allah. They cited His words:

“But the word from Me will come into effect.”

He thus states that the word is from Him, not from any of His creatures. The preposition “min” (“from”) indicates the point of origin. If the noun governed by it denotes an entity subsisting in its own right, it is not