Abū ʿAbd Allāh Ahmad ibn al-Husayn ibn ʿAbd al-Jabbār al-Sūfī informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn Bakkār narrated to us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAyyāsh narrated to us, from ʿUmar ibn Muhammad ibn Zayd, Ismāʿīl ibn Rāfiʿ, and ʿAbd al-Rahmān ibn ʿAmr, who traced it back to ⦗877⦘ ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās, who used to say: “Divine decree is what holds monotheism together. Whoever affirms the oneness of Allah—Glorified is He—yet rejects divine decree, his rejection of divine decree nullifies his monotheism. But whoever affirms the oneness of Allah and believes in divine decree—this is the firmest handhold.”