said, “My utterance of the Quran is uncreated,” and his declaring anyone who said it was created to be a Jahmī. Yet some of his followers have made what Imam Ahmad declared an innovation into the Sunnah. Thus, you find them judging attributes of the servant—such as their utterances, voices, and other things—to be uncreated. Indeed, they say these are eternal. They then declare those who do not hold this view to be innovators and apply to them Ahmad’s judgments concerning innovators, although those judgments apply to themselves.

Likewise, they deny the attributes Ahmad affirmed, which are reported in the transmitted accounts and agreed upon by the early generations, such as the attributes pertaining to Allah’s actions: rising over the Throne, descending, coming, speaking when He wills, and others. They deny these on the claim that temporal occurrences cannot subsist in Him, regard their affirmation as an innovation, and pass upon those who affirm them the judgments Ahmad passed upon the people of innovation. Yet they themselves—not those others—are among the people of innovation whom Ahmad condemned. There are many similar examples.

Indeed, one of their imams may even be reported as claiming a Muslim consensus that temporal occurrences cannot subsist in His essence, in order thereby to deny what Ahmad and the other imams explicitly affirmed: that He speaks when He wills, along with these other actions connected to His will.

Clearly, claiming a consensus contrary to his explicit statements and those of the other imams is as egregious as can be. This resembles the claims made by various scholarly authors that there is a Muslim consensus contrary to the explicit statements of the Messenger. These instances also fall into that category, for the explicit statements of Ahmad and the other imams agree with those of the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him.