Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
It is permissible to describe a Qur’anic verse or part of it as an “expression” if what is meant by “expression” is the wording and speech of the Qur’an itself, and there is no harm in doing so. However, saying “the Qur’an is an expression of the Speech of Allah” with the meaning that it is not truly the Speech of Allah is a different statement, and it is false and impermissible to use it with this meaning.
In its original linguistic usage, the word “expression” refers to speech conveyed by a speaker to a listener through its wording. It is said, “This is so-and-so’s expression,” meaning his speech and wording that he uttered. It is also said, “So-and-so has good expression,” meaning that he has a good style and eloquent speech.
The use of the word “expression” in this sense is well known in books of Arabic language and Qur’anic exegesis. For example, one may say: “I copied this expression from so-and-so’s book,” meaning that his words were copied exactly without alteration.
Based on this meaning, there is no harm in saying of a Qur’anic verse: “This is an expression from the Qur’an,” meaning its wording and speech.
Some Qur’anic commentators have used this expression in their works. Ibn ‘Atiyyah رحمه الله said:
“The expression of the Qur’an in presenting these meanings surpasses every interpretation in eloquence, conciseness, and clarity.”
Al-Biqa‘i رحمه الله said in his tafsir:
“The expression of the Qur’an in attributing goodness to the human being...”
Therefore, if one says, for example:
“‘Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return’—this expression is from the Speech of Allah تعالى,”
this is correct and there is no harm in it, because the intended meaning is that these words are part of the Speech of Allah تعالى which He revealed in His Book.
It is necessary to distinguish between the correct linguistic use of the word “expression” and its use in some books of theology with another technical meaning.
Some theologians used the phrase “the Qur’an is an expression of the Speech of Allah” intending by it that the Qur’an we have before us is not truly the Speech of Allah تعالى, but rather an expression of an inner speech subsisting in Allah’s essence, and that the words, letters, and sounds that we recite are created.
This is the meaning rejected by the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnah, because it contradicts their belief that the Qur’an is truly the Speech of Allah تعالى, with its letters and meanings, and that it is uncreated.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله said:
“None of the early generations said: ‘This Qur’an is an expression of the Speech of Allah,’ nor did they say that it is a narration of it.”
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin رحمه الله also distinguished between the two usages and explained that it is not correct to say without qualification: “This Qur’an is an expression of the Speech of Allah” if the intended meaning is that the Qur’an is not truly the Speech of Allah.
Therefore, the issue is not with the word “expression” itself, but rather with the meaning intended by the speaker.
If “expression” means the wording and speech uttered by the speaker, then there is no harm in using it. This includes saying: “This is an expression from the Qur’an” or “This expression is from the Speech of Allah.”
But if the word “expression” is used in a technical sense intended to deny that the Qur’an is truly the Speech of Allah تعالى, then this meaning is false, and it is impermissible to use the statement with such an intention.
It is permissible to say of a verse or part of a verse: “This is an expression from the Qur’an” or “This expression is from the Speech of Allah,” when what is intended is the wording of the verse and its speech.
As for saying “the Qur’an is an expression of the Speech of Allah,” this is not correct if it means that the Qur’an contained in the mushaf is not truly the Speech of Allah, but merely an expression of another speech.
And Allah تعالى knows best.