When Abū al-Hasan al-Ash'arī renounced Mu'tazilism, he followed the approach of Abū Muhammad ibn Kullāb. Some who claimed adherence to the Sunnah and hadith, including members of the Sālimiyyah and others such as Abū 'Alī al-Ahwāzī, consequently began recounting alleged faults of Abū al-Hasan that were fabrications made against him by the Mu'tazilah and others. For al-Ash'arī had exposed the contradictions and unsoundness of the Mu'tazilah’s doctrines as no one else had, until he had utterly cornered them.

When Ibn Kullāb refuted the Jahmiyyah, however, he failed to recognize the unsoundness of the foundational principle underlying the speculative theology they had introduced into Islam. Rather, he agreed with them on it. Those who falsely disparage Ibn Kullāb and al-Ash'arī are drawn from the adherents of hadith and the Sālimiyyah, including Hanbalīs, Shāfi'īs, Mālikīs, and others. Many of them agree with Ibn Kullāb and al-Ash'arī on this point, thus agreeing with the Jahmiyyah on the foundational principle of their innovated doctrine.

When discussing the question of the Quran and its being uncreated, they adopt the arguments of Ibn Kullāb and al-Ash'arī to dispute with the Mu'tazilah and Jahmiyyah, then adopt the arguments of the Jahmiyyah and Mu'tazilah to dispute with Ibn Kullāb and al-Ash'arī. They have fashioned a novel position by combining the views of both sides—a position held by none of the early generations. They agree with Ibn Kullāb, al-Ash'arī, and others in saying that the Quran is eternal, and use their arguments to demonstrate the unsoundness of the position of the Mu'tazilah, Jahmiyyah, and others.

Along with these scholars and the majority of Muslims, they affirm that the Arabic Quran is the speech of Allah and that Allah spoke it with letters and sound. They therefore say that the individual letters and sounds are eternal, or that the letters