Quran that show He spoke the words in question at that particular time. How, then, could that speech be beginningless and everlasting—having always existed and continuing forever?! And how could He have always been, and forever remain, one who says:

‘O Noah! Disembark in peace from Us.’

[Surah Hūd: 48],

‘O Jesus! I will take you and raise you to Myself.’

[Surah Āl Imrān: 55],

O Moses:

‘Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity except Me.’

[Surah Tā Hā: 14],

and:

‘O you wrapped in garments! Stand through the night, except for a little.’

[Surah al-Muzzammil: verses 1–2].”

This group said, “This Arabic Quran is not Allah’s speech.”

They also said, “Allah’s speech is neither multiple nor divisible.”

The people replied to them, “When Allah spoke to Moses, did He enable him to understand all of His speech or only part of it? If you say, ‘All of it,’ Moses would thereby have come to know Allah’s knowledge. But if you say, ‘Part of it,’ His speech would have been divided, whereas you hold that it is one indivisible whole.

“Likewise, according to you, this Arabic Quran is not Allah’s speech but merely an expression of it. Is it an expression of all of it? That is impossible. Or is it an expression of part of it? That too is impossible.” There were further arguments that would take too long to recount here.

When the second faction saw the unsoundness of this view, they said:

“Rather, we say that the Quran is eternal and consists of letters—or of letters and sounds—and that this Arabic Quran is Allah’s speech, as demonstrated by the Quran, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Muslims.

“Many passages in the Quran show that what was sent down is the Quran, that it is Allah’s speech, and that it is Arabic.”

They then began vehemently condemning the former group for their denial (1) that this was Allah’s speech; for