566 — Abū Muhammad Jafar ibn Ahmad ibn Āsim al-Dimashqī narrated to us, saying: Ahmad ibn Abī al-Hawārī narrated to us, saying: Abd Allāh ibn Hujr narrated to us, saying: Abd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak said to a man whom he heard saying, “How daring so-and-so is toward Allah!”

“Do not say, ‘How ⦗969⦘ daring so-and-so is toward Allah!’ Allah Most High is too noble for anyone to presume against Him. Rather, say, ‘How deluded so-and-so is concerning Allah!’”

He said: I related this to Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī, who said, “Ibn al-Mubārak spoke the truth. Allah Most High is too noble for anyone to presume against Him. Rather, they became insignificant in His sight, so He abandoned them to their sins. Had they been honored in His sight, He would have kept them from those sins.”