…and all gratitude is due to Allah, and gratitude itself is other than Allah; just as one is rewarded for expressions such as al-hamd (praise), al-shukr (thanks), tahlil (the declaration “la ilaha illa Allah”), and takbir (the proclamation “Allahu akbar”), one is likewise rewarded for the recitation of the Quran. The Hanbalis—followers of Ahmad ibn Hanbal—boycotted Husayn al-Karabisi, branded him an innovator, and disparaged him and everyone who adopted his view on this question. Imam al-Dhahabi states in al-Mizan 1/544, in the biography of al-Karabisi: “If by his words, ‘The Quran is the speech of Allah, uncreated, and my utterance of it is created,’ he intends the mere act of articulating, this is acceptable, for our actions are created. But if he means that the recited text itself is created, this is what Ahmad and the early authorities rejected and deemed a form of Jahmite doctrine.” Al-Dhahabi further clarifies the matter in Siyar Aʿlam al-Nubalaʾ 11/510, in the notice on ʿAli ibn Hajar, where he contrasts the positions of al-Karabisi and al-Bukhari. He writes: “The Imam harshly criticized those who said, ‘Our pronunciation of the Quran is created.’” Concerning al-Bukhari he adds: “Al-Bukhari, a man of exceptional intelligence, said: ‘I never stated that our pronunciations of the Quran are created; rather, it is the movements, sounds, and actions that are created. The Quran that is heard, recited, uttered, and written in the codices is the speech of Allah, uncreated.’ He composed a full volume on the subject, Afʿal al-ʿIbad (Human Acts). A group took exception to him, failing to grasp his intent—among them al-Dhuḥli, Abu Zurʿa, Abu Hatim, Abu Bakr al-Aʿyun, and others.” Siyar Aʿlam al-Nubalaʾ 11/291 reports, on the authority of Fawran, a companion of Ahmad: “Al-Athram and Abu ʿAbd Allah al-Miʿti asked me to secure a private meeting with Abu ʿAbd Allah (Ahmad), so that I might question him about our colleagues who distinguish between the utterance and what is uttered. I asked him, and he said: ‘In whatever way the Quran is involved in a person’s words or deeds, it is uncreated, whereas our deeds are created.’ I then asked, ‘Do you, Abu ʿAbd Allah, consider the ‘utterers’ to be Jahmites?’ He replied: ‘No. The Jahmites are those who say the Quran itself is created.’” See also al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafiʿiyyah, 2/199 ff., and Tarikh Baghdad, 8/65. (1) Tarikh Baghdad, 8/64. (2) Tarikh Baghdad, 8/65.