the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He claimed that anyone who ascribed to Allah any attribute with which He had described Himself in His Book, or which His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had reported about Him, was a disbeliever and one of those who liken Allah to creation. Through his words he led many people astray, and men from among the followers of Abū Hanīfah and the followers of ‘Amr ibn ‘Ubayd in Basra adopted his views.