this position, in terms of revelation and reason (1), is more evident than the unsoundness of the view that He speaks with speech subsisting in Him and subject to His will and power.”

Those who hold that He speaks by His will and power, with speech subsisting in Him—and they are the majority of Muslims—differ over two views. Some say that He speaks by His will and power (2), with speech (3), after speech had not previously existed in Him, as held by the Karramites and those who agree with them.

Others say (4): “He has never ceased speaking whenever He wills and however He wills.” This is the position of the leading authorities of Ahl (5) al-Sunnah and Hadith, such as Abdullah ibn al-Mubārak (6), Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and other leading authorities of Ahl al-Sunnah (7).

The Kullābites (8) say: “If we were compelled to agree either with those who say, ‘His speech is created,’ or with those who say, ‘His speech subsists in His Essence, though speech as a genus came to exist in His Essence (9) after previously not existing,’ then the doctrine (10) of the latter would be less manifestly unsound than the Muʿtazilite position, and the position of