‘Uyayna mention this hadith: ‘Allah created Adam in his image.’ He then said, ‘Anyone who does not affirm this is such-and-such’—using words of abuse—while Sufyān remained silent and offered no objection.”

Al-Marwadhī said: “I think I mentioned to Abū ‘Abd Allāh that one of the hadith scholars in Basra had said, concerning the Prophet’s words, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ‘Allah created Adam in his image’: ‘The image of clay.’ He replied, ‘This man is a Jahmī,’ and said, ‘We accept the report as it has come.’”

Al-Khallāl narrated through two chains of transmission from Abū Tālib, who said: I heard Abū ‘Abd Allāh—meaning Ahmad ibn Hanbal—say, “Whoever says that Allah created Adam in Adam’s image is a Jahmī. What image did Adam have before