promoted this doctrine, having people beaten for it and thrown into prison, a group of jurists from Baghdad came to Abū ʿAbd Allāh. Among them were Bakr ibn ʿAbd Allāh, Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAlī al-Muṭbaḫī, Faḍl ibn ʿĀṣim, and others. They asked to be admitted, so I sought permission for them and they entered.

They said, “O Abū ʿAbd Allāh, the matter has spread and grown severe. This man is doing such-and-such; he has publicized what he has publicized, and we fear he will go even further.” They also told him that Ibn Abī Duʾād was proceeding to order the teachers to instruct the children in the kuttāb that, together with the Qur’an, they should write: “the Qur’an is such-and-such.”

Abū ʿAbd Allāh asked, “What is it that you want?”

They replied, “We have come to consult you about what we intend.”

He asked again, “So what do you intend?”

They said, “We are not satisfied with his rule or his authority.”

Abū ʿAbd Allāh debated with them for a while—and I was present—until he said, “Tell me: if this authority is taken away from you altogether, will you not have brought upon yourselves something you dislike? Your duty is to repudiate it in your hearts; do not withdraw your hand from obedience, do not fracture the unity of the Muslims, and do not…"