and anyone who denies this in this sense necessarily implies that additions and omissions have been made to the Quran. Thus, people have unanimously agreed that what lies between the two covers is Allah’s speech, and have condemned those who deny this.

Of a speaker’s words heard directly from him, one may also say, “This is Zayd’s selfsame speech,” “This is the very speech of Zayd,” or “This is Zayd’s speech itself,” meaning that it is heard from him without an intermediary, so that one hears the attribute peculiar to that speaker. As Ayyūb al-Sakhtiyānī said: “Al-Hasan would utter words that came out like pearls. Then others uttered those same words after him, and they came out like dung.”

A human speaker has a voice and tone peculiar to him, just as he has his own distinctive disposition. As Allah Most High says:

“and the diversity of your languages and your colors”

If his speech is a command, a prohibition, or a statement, he also has a state, quality, and manner peculiar to him. Thus, if his speech is heard with the attribute peculiar to him, and someone says, “This is his selfsame speech,” “This is his very speech,” or “This is his speech itself,” including that distinctive attribute in what is meant by “selfsame” and “itself,” this would not be true of his speech when transmitted by someone else.

Yet, since people in our time know that no one hears the speech of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—directly from him, this meaning does not occur to anyone. Rather, everyone knows that when we say, “We have heard the speech of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace,” “This is the selfsame speech of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace,” or “This is his very speech,” the sole intended meaning is