—may He be blessed and exalted—, whereupon he encountered a group (1) of idolaters known as the Samaniyyah (2). They recognized Jahm and said to him, “We will debate you: if our proof prevails over you, you must enter our religion; but if your proof prevails over us, we shall enter yours.”
Among the questions they put to Jahm was this: “Do you not claim that you have a deity?”
Jahm replied, “Yes.”
They said, “Have you seen your deity?”
He answered, “No.”
They asked, “Have you (3) heard His speech?”
He said, “No.”
They continued, “Have you smelled any fragrance of His?”
He said, “No.”
They asked, “Have you perceived Him with any sense?”
He said, “No.”
They said, “Have you found Him to possess any tangible form?”
He said, “No.”
They said, “Then how do you know that He is a deity?” Jahm was left bewildered and, for forty days, did not know whom he was worshipping. Thereafter he seized upon an argument of the same type (4) used by the Christian heretics, for those heretics (5) among the Christians claim that the spirit (6) within Jesus is from the Spirit (7) of Allah—indeed, from Allah’s very essence—and that whenever Allah (8) wills to bring something into being, He enters into part of His creation and speaks through its tongue.
(1) In the Refutation of the Jahmiyya and the Heretics: “anasan” (“some people”).
(2) The Sammaniyah are a deviant sect predating Islam; they rejected rational inquiry and inference (aql wa-al-istidlāl), asserted the eternity of the world, maintained that knowledge is confined to the five senses, denied the resurrection and life after death for most of their followers, and a faction upheld the transmigration of souls into various forms, among other false doctrines. See al-Farq bayna al-Furuq (al-Baghdādī), pp. 270–271; At-Tabṣīr fī al-Dīn (al-Isfarā’īnī), p. 149; Kashshāf Isṭilāḥāt al-Funūn (al-Tahanūnī), 4: 52.
(3) In the Refutation of the Jahmiyya and the Heretics: “They said: ‘It is…’”.
(4) The portion enclosed in brackets is an addition from manuscripts S and T. In the Refutation of the Jahmiyya and the Heretics it reads: “…an argument similar to the heretics’…”.
(5) The original reading is “zandaqa” (“heresy”), as confirmed by manuscripts S and T and by the Refutation of the Jahmiyya.
(6) In manuscript T the word appears as “allati” (“which”).
(7) In the Refutation of the Jahmiyya: “It is rūḥ Allāh” (“the Spirit of God”).
(8) The text within brackets is an addition from manuscripts S and T and from the margin of the Refutation of the Jahmiyya.