and another that differs, each of them having what is peculiar to him. Thus, when someone says, “This is his speech,” he is referring to what is identical and common to both. When he says, “This is his voice,” he is referring to what is distinct and peculiar to each. Hence one may say, “This is a deep voice,” or “a thin voice,” or “a beautiful voice,” or “one that is not beautiful.” This is illustrated by the hadith in Sunan Ibn Mājah, in which the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“Allah listens more attentively to a man reciting the Quran with a beautiful voice than the owner of a singing slave woman listens to her.”

And in the well-known hadith:

“Beautify the Quran with your voices.”

Ahmad said, “He should beautify it with his voice as much as he can.” Imam Ahmad thus made clear that the voice belongs to the reciter, while the speech belongs to the Creator. Just as this is understood when conveying the speech of Allah and His Messenger, so it is when conveying anyone’s speech. When people hear someone reciting:

“Indeed, everything apart from Allah is vain,”

they say, “This is Labīd’s poetry, in both wording and meaning,” and “This is Labīd’s speech.” As the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“The truest words ever spoken by a poet are Labīd’s words: ‘Indeed, everything apart from Allah is vain.’”

If the reciter were to say, “This is my poetry,” or “my speech,” people would call him a liar, just as they would if he said, “This is Labīd’s voice.” But if he said, “This is Labīd’s wording,” in the familiar sense—that these spoken words are Labīd’s speech, with its arrangement and composition—they would affirm that he spoke the truth.