He studied under Abū Khalīfah al-Jumaḥī, Abū ʿAlī al-Jubbāʾī, Zakariyyā al-Sājī, Sahl ibn Nūḥ, and others of their rank, and he cites them at length—with full chains of transmission—in his Qurʾānic commentary.

His brilliance and penetrating understanding were truly remarkable.

Once he had mastered Muʿtazilite doctrine, he grew to abhor it, publicly renounced it, ascended the pulpit before the people, repented to Allah Most High, and thereafter devoted himself to rebutting the Muʿtazilah and exposing their flaws.

The jurist Abū Bakr al-Ṣayrafī said, “The Muʿtazilah had lifted their heads high—until al-Ashʿarī arose and shut them up in sesame husks.” (1)

Ibn al-Bāqillānī said, “My finest state is when I am able to grasp the speech of al-Ashʿarī.” (2)

I have seen four treatises by Abū al-Hasan on the principles of faith in which he lays out the foundations of the early scholars’ stance on the divine attributes, writing: “They are to be left as they have come.”

He then adds: “That is my position, it is the creed to which I devote myself, and they are not to be allegorically interpreted.”

He died in Baghdad in 324 AH. A group of Hanbalīs and other scholars spoke against him. (4)

Everyone’s statements are taken and left, except for the one whom Allah protects. O Allah, guide us and have mercy on us. (5)