His limits, commanded obedience to Him, and forbade disobedience to Him.”

ʿAbbād ibn Mansūr reported: “I asked al-Hasan about the words of the Most High, ‘And He sent down the Criterion.’ He said: ‘It is a Book of truth.’”

Furqān (“distinction”) is a verbal noun of faraqa (“to distinguish”), like rujhān (“preponderance”), kufrān (“ingratitude”), and khusrān (“loss”). Likewise, Quran is originally a verbal noun of qaraʾa (“to recite”). This is its meaning in His words:

“Indeed, it is for Us to collect it and recite it. So when We have recited it, follow its recitation. Then it is for Us to explain it.”

The recited words themselves are also called “Quran,” a frequent usage, as in His words:

“So when you recite the Quran, seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed.”

Likewise, kalām (“speech”) is a noun denoting the verbal action expressed by kallama and takallama (“to speak”), whose verbal nouns are taklīm and takallum; it also denotes the speech itself. When a person speaks, his speech involves an action and movement on his part, which is what the verbal noun denotes. That movement produces a sound articulated into letters, which constitutes speaking itself. Thus, “speech,” “utterance,” and similar terms encompass both senses. Accordingly, speech is sometimes classified as a kind of action, when the act of speaking is intended, and sometimes as a separate category alongside action, when the words spoken are intended. The term encompasses both. This is discussed at length elsewhere.

The point here is that when furqān is used as a verbal noun, it means that He sent down the separation and distinction between truth and falsehood. This is sent down in the Book, for the Book contains that separation. Sending down the distinction means sending down that which distinguishes. If furqān means that which distinguishes, it likewise denotes the distinguishing criterion. The two meanings therefore amount to the same thing. And if what is meant