opponents of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Saʿīd and his followers, such as al-Hārith and others.” The discussion between him and Abū ʿAlī on this matter continued at length.

I said, “I have compiled the foundations of our positions in a document.” I brought out the document for him and said, “Examine these issues that I have compiled and explained in my own handwriting. If there is anything in them that you reject, explain your objection to us so that we may abandon it.” He took the document from me and continued examining and studying it until he had understood its contents. Then he raised his head and said, “I see nothing here that I do not affirm. All of it is my position, and it is what I found my teachers adhering to.” I asked him to record in his own handwriting, at the end of that statement, that this was his position.

Then Abū So-and-so, So-and-so, and So-and-so went to him and said, “The master did not carefully examine what he wrote in his own handwriting. They have deceived you and misrepresented the situation.”

Al-Hākim said:

Here is a copy of the written statement. Abū Bakr Ahmad ibn Ishāq and Yahyā ibn Mansūr state:

“Allah’s speech is an attribute of His essence. No part of Allah’s speech is creation or a created thing, an act or the product of an act, something newly originated, an event, or events. Whoever claims that any part of it is created or newly originated, or claims that speech is an attribute of action, is a misguided Jahmī and an innovator.

“And I say: Allah has always spoken and will always speak. Speech is an attribute of His essence. Nothing in the speech of His creation resembles His speech, and His speech can never be exhausted. Our Lord, with His speech, His knowledge, His power, and the attributes of His essence, has always been One; He has always been and will always be. Our Lord spoke to His prophets and spoke to Moses. It is Allah who said to him:

‘Indeed, I am Allah; there is no deity except Me