“so when We have recited it, follow its recitation,” that is, recite it after him. “Then upon Us is its explanation,” meaning: do not interrupt Gabriel while he is reciting.

This Qur’an was spoken by Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, and He speaks it whenever He wills to send it down—just as He says: “Allah has indeed heard the statement of the woman who argues with you concerning her husband” (Q 58:1). The verb “has heard” is in the past tense, which shows that the woman’s words preceded, while Allah’s speech about her case came afterward: “Allah has indeed heard the statement of the woman who argues with you concerning her husband and complains to Allah; He hears the dialogue between you both. Surely Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.”

He also says, “And [remember] when you left your household early in the morning to post the believers at their stations for battle” (Q 3:121)—an event that took place at Uhud. The phrase “when you left your household” therefore precedes Allah’s speech about it.

Thus Allah, majestic and exalted, speaks whenever He wills, with whatever He wills, and however He wills. It is impermissible for us to claim that Allah’s speech is like our speech—that His voice in the Qur’an resembles our voices. Far from it. Yet He does speak with the very letters with which we speak.

Accordingly, the Qur’an that lies before us is composed of the same letters from which we form our words, and it is the speech of Allah—both in meaning and in wording. This is what the Book, the Sunnah, and the unanimous agreement of the early generations and the imams of Ahl al-Sunnah all affirm: the Qur’an is the speech of Allah, revealed from Him; He truly spoke it, and Gabriel received it directly from Him.