As for the question:

“Is calling it Allah’s speech figurative?”

The answer is:

The hallmark of figurative usage is that it can truthfully be denied. Yet we know beyond doubt that if someone were to say in the Messenger’s presence, “This is not Allah’s speech,” he would not, in the Messenger’s judgment, be speaking in accordance with the literal linguistic meaning.

Furthermore, this applies to everyone who conveys another’s words: they are called the words of the one from whom they are conveyed, not the words of the one conveying them. And Allah knows best.