Yet the Quran, the hadiths, and the statements of the early generations and the leading scholars all contradict both these views. It is clear that He called to Moses when Moses came, and that He speaks by His will, uttering particular speech at a particular time, as He says:

“We created you, then gave you form, then said to the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam.’”

And He Most High says:

“Indeed, the likeness of Jesus in Allah’s sight is that of Adam: He created him from dust, then said to him, ‘Be,’ and he was.”

The Quran contains hundreds of verses indicating this principle, while the hadiths are too numerous to count. This is the position of the leading scholars of the Sunnah, the early generations, and the majority of rational people. Hence, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and others said: “He has always spoken whenever He wills and however He wills.” This is the position of the generality of Ahl al-Sunnah.

For this reason, they agreed that the Quran is the speech of Allah, sent down and uncreated. We know of no one among the early generations who said: “It is qadīm (beginningless) and has always existed.” Many of the later scholars who said, “It is qadīm,” did not understand what was meant. Some say: “It is qadīm in His knowledge.” Others say: “Qadīm means that it existed earlier, before the very time when the Prophet was sent—not that it is beginningless and has always existed.” Still others say: “Rather, what we mean by qadīm is that it is uncreated.” This matter has been discussed at length elsewhere.

“The point here” is that, according to this principle, when He created the creatures, He saw them and heard the voices of His servants, and this was by His will and power. For His creation of them was by His will and power, and thereby they became visible and their speech became audible. It is also stated in