famously transmitted from Ahmad and Ishāq: he said to Ahmad, “‘Do not revile the face, for Allah created Adam in his image’—do you not accept these hadiths?” Ahmad replied, “Authentic.” Ishāq likewise said, “Authentic. No one abandons it except an innovator or someone of unsound judgment.”

He also related from Ya‘qūb ibn Bukhtān that Abū ‘Abd Allāh Ahmad ibn Hanbal was asked about the Prophet’s saying, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, “Allah created Adam in his image.” He replied, “Do not interpret it. It is not for us to interpret it; leave the hadith as it has been transmitted.”