195 — Abū Abd Allah al-Qazwīnī also informed us. He said ⦗548⦘: Yahyā ibn Abdak al-Qazwīnī narrated to us: I heard Yahyā ibn Yūsuf al-Zimmī say:

While I was taking a midday rest in one of the rooms of the caravanserais of Merv, a terrifying figure suddenly entered upon me. I asked, “Who are you?”

He replied, “Do not be afraid, Abū Zakariyyā.”

I said, “Very well, but who are you?” Then I rose and prepared to fight him.

He said, “I am Abū Murra.”

I replied, “May Allah give you no welcome!”

He said, “Had I known that you were in this room, I would not have entered it; I would have stayed in another room. This was where I used to lodge whenever I came to Khurāsān.”

I asked, “Where have you come from?”

He replied, “From Iraq.”

I asked, “What did you do in Iraq?”

He replied, “I left a deputy there.”

I asked, “Who is he?”

He replied, “Bishr al-Mirrīsī.”

I asked, “To what does he call people?”

He replied, “To the doctrine that the Quran is created.” ⦗549⦘ He continued, “I am now coming to Khurāsān, where I shall leave a deputy as well.”

I asked, “What do you yourself say about the Quran?”

He replied, “Though I am an accursed devil, I say: ‘The Quran is the speech of Allah and is uncreated.’”