I said, “These men are not liars; rather, they are reliable, authoritative imams. The shaykh spoke only according to what had been reported to him about them. May Allah disgrace whoever spreads calumny and whoever carries tales from one party to another.”

Al-Ḥākim said: I heard Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Bālūyah relate that he heard Ibn Khuzaymah say:

“Among the claims of these ignoramuses is that Allah does not repeat His speech. They have no understanding of the Book of Allah. In several places Allah informs us that He created Adam, He reiterates the mention of Moses, He praises Himself in various passages, and He repeats the verse, ‘Then which of your Lord’s favors will you both deny?’ (Sūrat al-Raḥmān). I never imagined that a Muslim could suppose that Allah would not say something twice. Such talk comes from those who allege that the Speech of Allah is created and who imagine that it is impermissible to say that Allah created one thing twice.”

Al-Ḥākim also said: I heard Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq say:

“When matters among us reached the point they did, Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and Manṣūr al-Ṭūsī seized the opportunity to advance their doctrine, while Abū al-Qāsim, Abū Bakr ibn ʿAlī, and al-Bardajī took advantage of the situation to worsen affairs. Abū ʿAmr al-Ḥīrī then stepped in to mediate between the parties. He confirmed to Abū Bakr ibn Khuzaymah our acknowledgment of his seniority, and he explained to him the opponents’ intent to cause disruption, until Ibn Khuzaymah agreed that we should meet in his presence. I entered with Abū ʿAlī and Abū Bakr ibn Abī ʿUthmān. Abū ʿAlī al-Thaqafī said to him, ‘Master, what do you object to in our positions that you wish us to retract?’

“He answered, ‘Your leaning toward the doctrine of the Kulabiyya. Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal was among the fiercest opponents of ʿAbd Allah ibn Saʿīd ibn Kullāb (1) and of his followers such as al-Ḥārith and others.’ The exchange between him and Abū ʿAlī on this issue went on at length.

“I then said, ‘I have gathered the fundamentals of our views in a folder.’ I produced the folder for him; he took it and kept examining and studying it, then said, ‘I do not see here anything that…’”