of Allah, uncreated. Whoever says that it is “created” is a disbeliever; upon him are the curses of Allah, the angels, and all mankind.’”’”

Shaykh Abū al-Hasan said:

“Shaykh Abū Hāmid al-Isfarāyīnī vehemently denounced al-Bāqillānī and the practitioners of speculative theology.”

He said:

“The Shāfi‘ī imams have always disdained and refused to be associated with al-Ash‘arī. They disavow what al-Ash‘arī built his doctrine upon and warn their followers and friends against gravitating toward him. Thus I heard several shaykhs and imams—including the hadith master al-Mu’taman ibn Ahmad ibn ‘Alī al-Sājī—say:

‘We heard a number of trustworthy shaykhs say: “Shaykh Abū Hāmid Ahmad ibn Abī Tāhir al-Isfarāyīnī, the imam of imams, whose learning and students had spread throughout the land, would, when setting out for Friday prayer from Qat‘iyyat al-Karaj to the al-Mansūr congregational mosque, enter the lodge known as al-Zūzī, opposite the mosque. He would turn to those present and say: ‘Bear witness that I hold the Quran to be Allah’s speech, uncreated, as Imam Ibn Hanbal said—not as al-Bāqillānī says.’ He repeated this on several Fridays and was asked about it,