On Allah Speaking to Musa
Some theological opponents have argued that the following verse means that Allah spoke to Musa without any created intermediary:
“…And Allah spoke to Musa with speech (taklīman)” — (Surat an-Nisā’ 4:164)
means that Allah spoke to Musa without any created intermediary.
However, this view is incorrect, because Allah states:
“It is not fitting for any human being that Allah should speak to him except by inspiration, from behind a veil, or that He sends a messenger [i.e. an angel] to inspire by His permission that which He wills.” — (Surat ash-Shūrā 42:51)
The beginning of this verse makes it clear that direct Speech from Allah is impossible: “It is not fitting for any human being that Allah should speak to him…” — except through one of the three means mentioned at the end of the verse.
Evidence from the Speech to Musa
Allah clarifies that He spoke to Musa through the medium of created speech when He says:
“But when he (Musa) was called from the right side of the valley in a blessed place, from the tree: ‘O Musa, verily I am Allah, the Lord of the worlds’.” — (Surat al-Qasas 28:30)
This address to Musa was created; otherwise, how could something uncreated:
- be called “from the right side of the valley”,
- emanate “from the tree”, a created object,
- and consist of letters and words such as “O Musa…”?
On the Use of Taklīman
Some argue that the emphatic verbal root (taklīman) implies that Allah spoke directly to Musa without a created intermediary.
The reply: the use of emphatic verbal roots in the Qur’an does not negate the role of a created medium. For example:
“Verily, it is We who have revealed the Qur’an to you in stages (tanzīlan).” — (Surat al-Insān 76:1)
Here, Allah uses the emphatic verbal noun tanzīlan (in stages) to describe the revelation. Yet no one denies that revelation came through the created archangel Jibrīl (‘alayhi al-salām).
Thus, the argument that the emphatic verbal noun (taklīman) proves unmediated speech is invalid.