…for which He threatened with Saqar anyone who claimed that it is the speech of human beings is the very discourse that He sometimes attributes to a human messenger and at other times to an angelic messenger, the point being that the messenger merely conveyed it. The disbeliever, however, alleged that the messenger had composed it, that it was his own speech—whether he meant by that the meaning, the wording, or both. It is such a person that Allah has cursed, the one who said, “This is nothing but the speech of a human being.”

Accordingly, whoever says that this Qur’an is human speech is, in one respect, of the same ilk. For this reason the Almighty said:

“If any of the polytheists seeks your protection, then grant him asylum until he hears Allah’s speech; then convey him to a place of safety.” (Qur’an 9:6)

Here Allah informs us that what the asylum-seeker hears is Allah’s own speech, yet he hears it in the voice of the reciter: the voice is the reciter’s, while the speech is the Creator’s. The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said, “Beautify the Qur’an with your voices,” and he said, “Allah listens more attentively to a man with a pleasant voice reciting the Qur’an than the owner of a singing slave-girl listens to her singing.”

Likewise, in several passages He makes clear that the voice heard from the servant is the servant’s own voice, as in His words:

“O you who believe, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet, nor speak to him loudly as you do to one another.” (Qur’an 49:2)

“Those who lower their voices in the presence of the Messenger of Allah—these are the ones whose hearts Allah has refined for piety.” (Qur’an 49:3)

And in Luqman’s counsel to his son:

“Be moderate in your walking and lower your voice; indeed, the most repugnant of voices is the braying of donkeys.” (Qur’an 31:19)

In Sunan Abi Dawud it is narrated from Jabir that during the pilgrimage season the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—would proclaim, “Is there no man who will take me to his people so that I may convey my Lord’s words? For Quraysh have prevented me from delivering my Lord’s words.”