and Abū Zur‘ah, Abū Hātim, Muhammad ibn Yahyā al-Dhuhlī, and other scholars whom Imām Muhammad ibn Ishāq ibn Khuzaymah had known, Ibn Khuzaymah’s settled conviction was what he had received from his imams: that Allah Most High has always spoken whenever He wills, and that He speaks the same words time after time.

He had companions, such as Abū ‘Alī al-Thaqafī and others, who had adopted Ibn Kullāb’s approach. One of the Mu‘tazilites then disclosed to Ibn Khuzaymah the underlying implication of their position: that Allah cannot be described as having the power to speak whenever He wills, and that His speech is not subject to His will. A dispute over this arose between Ibn Khuzaymah and others on one side and these companions on the other, until the latter declared their agreement with him on matters that were not in dispute. Disciplinary action by the authorities was ordered against them for opposing him, and people split into two factions. The majority of the people of the Sunnah and hadith sided with Ibn Khuzaymah, while those who followed Ibn Kullāb’s approach sided with Ibn Kullāb. After Ibn Khuzaymah’s time, the scholars of Nishapur and elsewhere likewise formed two factions. Thus, al-Hākim Abū ‘Abd Allāh and Abū ‘Abd al-Rahmān