And this view is among the clearest forms of disbelief, by the consensus of Muslims, Jews, and Christians. Its falsity is self-evident from the religion of the Muslims.

Or he is a man who professes adherence to the school of al-Ashʿarī and supposes that this is al-Ashʿarī’s position, on the basis that, according to him, Allah did not utter the Arabic words. Rather, His speech is a single meaning subsisting in the Lord’s essence, encompassing both command and statement: if expressed in Arabic, it is the Quran; if expressed in Hebrew, it is the Torah; and if expressed in Syriac, it is the Gospel.

Although this was the position of Ibn Kullāb, al-Qalānisī, al-Ashʿarī, and others like them, they did not say that the Arabic words were Gabriel’s speech. Whoever attributes this to al-Ashʿarī himself makes a reckless claim. Rather, this was said by a group of those who professed adherence to him, just as another group said that it was composed by Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. However, the position widely reported from him is that the Arabic words are created and are not to be described as Allah’s speech. Yet, if they are created, He may have created them in the air or in some physical body. But when a position is weak, its unsoundness becomes apparent in its implications.

This position, too, was never held by any of the Companions, the Successors, the leading scholars of the Muslims, or their followers whose views are relied upon in issuing fatwas. Indeed, Shaykh Abū Hāmid al-Isfarāyīnī used to say: “My position concerning the Quran, and that of al-Shāfiʿī, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and all the other scholars of the major cities, differs from this position.” Likewise, Abū Muhammad al-Juwaynī—the father of Abū