As for Jilan (1), when turmoil broke out among its people over the question of human speech, they put forward innovations and excesses—extreme forms of affirmation and the denial of createdness for many created things—that constitute some of the gravest kinds of ignorance and misguidance. I have written several passages on this matter (2) in my reply to the Egyptian objections to the Ḥamawiyyah fatwa (3), as well as in other legal opinions and in various other works.
In the debate on the Qur’an, the confusion and contention that arose among both the early and later generations were far greater than anything that occurred regarding the question of divine exaltedness and elevation. During the era of the early Muslims there was no one who would openly deny or negate Allah’s being above, whereas in that same period there were indeed those who openly promoted the claim that the Qur’an is created. The Jahmiyyah of that time did not dare to summon people to deny that Allah is above His Throne—nor did they even reveal such a view—whereas they did brazenly call the people to the doctrine that the Qur’an is created, tested them over it, and punished anyone who refused with imprisonment, flogging, execution, cutting off of livelihood, and dismissal from—
(1) Jilan (with kasra): the name of several regions beyond Tabaristan. There is no major city called Jilan; rather, it consists of villages set in meadows among mountains. Countless scholars from every discipline—especially in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence)—have come from this area. See: Mu‘jam al-Buldan by Yaqut al-Hamawi, vol. 2, p. 201.
(2) The text enclosed in angle brackets is an addition by S. and T. to clarify the meaning.
(3) The book Jawab al-I‘tiradat al-Misriyya ‘ala al-Fatawa al-Hamawiyya (The Egyptian Objections Answered to the Hamawi Fatwas) is a work on usul (principles of jurisprudence) and one of the major compositions that the Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) authored during his imprisonment in Egypt; it spans four volumes. It is cited by Ibn ‘Abd al-Hadi in al-‘Uqud al-Durriyya, p. 29—who describes it as “a work rich in benefits and easy to consult”—and also by Ibn al-Qayyim in Asma’ Mu’allafat Ibn Taymiyya, p. 19; by Ibn Shakir in Dhawat al-Wafayat, vol. 1, p. 76; by Ibn Rajab in al-Dhayl ‘ala Tabaqat al-Hanabila, vol. 2, p. 403; and by other scholars who have written on the Shaykh and his works. Dr. Muhammad Rushad Salim (may Allah have mercy on him), editor of al-Istiqaama by Shaykh al-Islam (vol. 1, p. 139, n. 1), reports that this work is lost.
(4) In the printed edition: “mimman abaḥa.”