• it was known that the clearest statement is His statement, and the most superior speech is His speech, and that the measure of the excellence of His statement, majestic be His mention, over the statement of all His creation is like His excellence over all His servants.

Since that was the case—and one who addresses another in what the addressee does not understand from him is not making himself clear—it was known that it is not permissible that He, majestic be His mention, address anyone from His creation except in what the addressee understands, nor send a messenger with a message to any of them except in a tongue and clarity understood by the one to whom he is sent. For if the addressee and the recipient of the message do not understand what was addressed to them and what was sent to them, their condition—before the address and before the message came to them and after it—would be the same, since the address and the message would not have benefited them with anything they were ignorant of prior to that. And Allah, majestic be His mention, is far exalted above speaking an address or sending a message that conveys no benefit to the one addressed or to whom it was sent, because that, among us, is from the actions of people of deficiency and futility, and Allah, Exalted be He, is far above that. Therefore, He, majestic be His praise, said in His decisive revelation: {And We sent not a messenger except with the language of his people, in order that he might make things clear to them} [Sūrat Ibrāhīm: 4]. And He said to His Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him: {And We have not revealed to you the Book except that you may make clear to them that wherein they have differed, and as guidance and mercy for a people who believe} [Sūrat Al-Naḥl: 64]. Thus, it is not permissible that one who is ignorant of that through which he is guided could be guided by it.

It has become clear, then—through the evidence we have indicated—that every messenger of Allah, majestic be His praise, whom He sent to a people, He sent him only in the tongue of those to whom he was sent; and every Book He revealed to a prophet, and every message He sent to a nation, He revealed it only in the tongue of the one to whom He revealed or sent it. Thus, it is made clear by what we have said and described that the Book of Allah which He revealed to our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him, was in the tongue of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him. And since the tongue of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him, was Arabic, it is evident that the Qur'an is Arabic. And with that, too, spoke the decisive revelation of our Lord, as He, majestic be His mention, said: {Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an that you may understand} [Sūrat Yūsuf: 2]. And He said: {And indeed, it