Allah has, as its recited content, something other than the Quran that He spoke; his error is plain. Likewise, anyone who says that the Quran recited by Muslims is other than what Muslims recite is mistaken.

If, however, by “Quran” he means the verbal noun of qara'a, yaqra'u (“to recite”)—whose forms are qirā'ah and qur'ān (“recitation”)—and says, “I meant that recitation is other than what is recited,” then the word “recitation” is ambiguous. It may mean the Quran itself, or it may mean the act of reciting. Whoever distinguishes “recitation,” understood as the act denoted by the verbal noun, from what is recited—just as one distinguishes speaking, which is one's act, from the speech one utters—and means by “other” that the two are not identical, is correct. For the speech a person utters involves an act, such as movement, as well as the letters and meanings accompanying that act. This is why speech is sometimes contrasted with action and sometimes included within it.

An example of the former is the statement, “Faith is speech and action.” Another is the saying of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“Allah has pardoned my community for their inward thoughts, so long as they neither utter them nor act upon them.”

Another is the saying of the Most High:

“To Him ascends good speech, and righteous deeds raise it.”

And His saying:

“You are not engaged in any matter, nor do you recite any of the Quran, nor do you do any deed.”

There are other similar passages that distinguish speech from action. As for speech being included within action, an example is the saying of the Most High:

“So, by your Lord, We will surely question them all about what they used to do.”

All of them, about what they used to do. They have explained this as referring to saying, “There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah.” And when