Then he mentioned that he had presented those questions to the jurists and speculative theologians he found in Baghdad. They agreed with Abū al-ʿAbbās’s position and sought advantage for Abū Bakr ibn Ishāq in what he had made known. He also mentioned that Abū ʿAmr al-Najjār subsequently arrived from Nishapur and wrote on behalf of Abū Bakr Muhammad ibn Ishāq to a group of scholars concerning those questions, and that they would report anyone who disagreed with Abū Bakr ibn Khuzaymah to the ruler.

Al-Hākim said: I heard Abū ʿAlī Muhammad ibn Ishāq al-Abyūrdī say:

“I was present in such-and-such a village for a greeting to a young one among its followers (1). ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hamshād, of such-and-such a clan, and a number of the town’s notables attended. Ishāq ibn Abī al-Fard, the governor of Nishapur, was also present. He had us read Hamawayh ibn ʿAlī’s letter to him, instructing him to carry out Abū Bakr Muhammad ibn Ishāq ibn Khuzaymah’s orders concerning them: exile, beating, and imprisonment.”

He said:

“ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hamshād then rose from that gathering and said: ‘Blessed are they if what is being said about them is falsely attributed to them.’”

Abū ʿAlī said: The following day, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hamshād said to me:

“Last night I saw in a dream that the ascetic Ahmad ibn al-Sarī al-Marwazī struck me with his foot and then said: ‘You seem to be in doubt about the affairs of these Kullābiyyah.’”

He said: Then he looked at Muhammad ibn Ishāq and said:

“This is a message for mankind, that they may be warned by it, that they may know that He is but One God, and that those of understanding may take heed.”