what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, and to believe what Allah and His Messenger have reported. Much occurred in this regard that would take too long to explain.

When this became widely known and people came to understand the true nature of their position—that they denied the divine attributes, saying, “Allah cannot be seen and possesses neither knowledge nor power; there is no Lord above the Throne and no God above the heavens; and Muhammad was not taken up to his Lord,” along with other statements made by the Jahmiyyah who denied the attributes—various groups increasingly refuted them, sometimes through the Quran, hadith, and transmitted reports, sometimes through sound argument, and sometimes through falsehood. Among those who undertook to refute them was Abū Muhammad 'Abd Allāh ibn Sa'īd ibn Kullāb, a man of merit, learning, and religious devotion.

Anyone who claims that he introduced his innovations in order to spread Christianity among Muslims—as some relate when recounting his alleged faults, claiming that he instructed his sister to do this—is lying about him. This allegation was fabricated against him by the Mu'tazilah and Jahmiyyah whom he refuted, for they claim that whoever affirms the divine attributes has adopted the Christian position. Imam Ahmad mentioned a similar claim of theirs in his Refutation of the Jahmiyyah.

This allegation then came to be transmitted by people outside the Mu'tazilah, including members of the Sālimiyyah. It is also related by hadith scholars and jurists who are averse to him because of his innovation concerning the Quran. They bolster their case with statements of this kind, which are fabrications made against him by the Jahmiyyah and Mu'tazilah. These people do not realize that those who disparaged him in this way are worse than he is, and that he is better and closer to the Sunnah than they are.