184 — Abū Ubayd Alī ibn al-Husayn ibn Harb, the judge, informed us, saying: Abū al-Ashath Ahmad ibn al-Miqdām narrated to us, saying: al-Mutamir ibn Sulaymān narrated to us, saying: Isma Abū Āsim narrated to us, from Atā ibn al-Sāib, from Miqsam, from Ibn Abbās—may Allah be pleased with them both—who said: “The first of all things that Allah Most High created was the Pen...” He then related the hadith. The hadith of Ibn Abbās—may Allah be pleased with them both—has numerous chains of transmission.

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn said: The hadith concerning Adam and Moses—peace be upon them both—provides compelling proof that the Quran is the speech of Allah Most High and is not created. We shall relate it, if Allah Most High wills.