and a group of the scholars of Madinah (1) discussed the Quran and said, “It is the speech of Allah; it comes from Him, and nothing that proceeds from Allah is created (2).”
Al-Khallāl (3) said: ʿAlī ibn ʿĪsā informed me that Ḥanbal narrated to them: “I heard Abū Nuʿaym al-Faḍl ibn Dukayn say, ‘I encountered the people before anyone ever spoke about this matter, and we only came to know of it years later. The Quran is the speech of Allah, sent down from Allah; it is not to be classified as either Creator or created. From Him it began, and to Him it returns. This is the doctrine (4) that was revealed, and we know no other.’”
Al-Khallāl (5) also said: “Narrated to us (6) al-Marwazī (7). Abū Saʿīd informed me (8)—he was the son of the brother (9) of Ḥajjāj al-Anmāṭī—that he had heard his uncle say (10): ‘The Quran is the speech of Allah; nothing that comes from Allah is created; it proceeds from Him (11).’”
(1) In all manuscripts: “wa-yadhkuroon.” This reading is corroborated by Sharh Usul I’tiqad Ahl al-Sunnah (Commentary on the Principles of the Creed of the People of the Sunnah).
(2) In the printed edition: “minhu laysa.”
(3) Al-Sunnah “al-Musnad min Masa’il Abu ‘Abdallah Ahmad ibn Hanbal, narrated by Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Khallal” – manuscript, folio 161.
(4) The passage enclosed in quotation marks is an addition found in S, the printed edition, and the Musnad.
(5) The same source. See also al-Sunnah by ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad, p. 27: “Abbas narrated to me; Abu Sa‘id – sahib lana (our companion) – narrated to me; ‘Ata’, Hajjaj’s nephew, narrated to us.”
(6) In the Musnad: “akhbarana Abu Bakr” ("Abu Bakr informed us").
(7) In the printed edition: “al-Marwazi.”
(8) In the Musnad: “qala: hadathani.”
(9) In the original: “ibn Abi Hajjaj.” This reading is confirmed by S, the printed edition, the Musnad, and al-Sunnah. Hajjaj was Abu Muhammad Hajjaj ibn al-Manhal al-Anmaati al-Sulami al-Basri (d. 217 AH), a reliable transmitter who authored a Sunnah collection. I found no biographical entry for Abu Sa‘id. See al-Dhahabi, Tadhkirat al-Huffaz 2:403–404; Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib al-Tahdhib 2:206–207.
(10) In the Musnad: “al-Anmaati said: ‘I asked my uncle Hajjaj about the Quran and he said: …’”.
(11) The phrase “wa-huwa minhu” is omitted in the Musnad.