If one pursues that argument to its logical conclusion, he must deny that any attribute, act, or speech inheres in the Divine Essence—an implication that ultimately abolishes the very Maker. For that reason the predecessors of this ummah mounted a fierce campaign against Jahm and his followers among the Muʿtazilites, Najjārites, Ḍirārites, and others.

Harb al-Kirmānī—cited by Abū Bakr al-Khallāl in his book al-Sunnah—reported with the chain: Muhammad ibn Idrīs, meaning Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī, narrated to us; ʿAlī ibn Maysarah narrated to us; ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Shaqīq narrated to us; I heard Khārijah ibn Muṣʿab say:

“The Jahmites have disbelieved in verses from the Book of Allah. The Exalted says,
‘Its fruits are everlasting and so is its shade’ (13:35),
yet they claim that it will come to an end.
And He says,
‘Faces on that Day will be radiant, gazing upon their Lord’ (75:22–23),
but they insist that no vision will occur.”

Al-Khallāl also related: Abū Dāwūd al-Sijistānī narrated to us; Aḥmad narrated to us; my father told me: Ibrāhīm ibn Ṭahmān said, “Whenever I mention him—or he is mentioned in my presence—I supplicate against him. How grievous is the calamity this man, meaning Jahm, has bequeathed to the people of the Qiblah through his monstrous rhetoric.”

Abū Dāwūd further said: ʿAbdullāh ibn Mukhlad narrated to us; ʿAlī ibn Ibrāhīm narrated to us; Yaḥyā ibn Shibl narrated:

“I was sitting with Muqātil ibn Sulaymān and ʿAbbād ibn Kathīr when a young man arrived and asked, ‘What do you say about the verse, “Everything will perish except His Face” (28:88)?’ Muqātil replied, ‘He is a Jahmite!’ Then he added, ‘Woe unto you! By Allah, indeed—’”