, Abū al-‘Alā’ al-Hamdānī and others—say: “Our utterance of the Quran is uncreated.” They maintain that this is Ahmad’s position. They reject—or some of them reject—the report transmitted by Abū Tālib, claiming that it was fabricated and attributed to Ahmad, or that he retracted that position, as Abū Nasr al-Sijzī mentioned in his well-known book al-Ibānah.

The matter is not as they claim. Those who transmitted this from Ahmad were the most knowledgeable about him, the closest to him, and the most truthful in reporting from him. The people of Khurasan, however, did not know Ahmad’s statements as well as the people of Iraq, who were closer to him.

The controversy over “utterance” was most intense in Khurasan, where partisan hostility was directed against al-Bukhārī despite his eminence and standing as an imam. Although those who opposed him were also eminent imams, al-Bukhārī—may Allah be pleased with him—was among the most distinguished of men. If their intentions were good, and both he and they exercised their best judgment, Allah rewards him and them for their good intentions and their efforts. Even if he or they committed some error or mistake, Allah forgives them all.

Yet some ignorant people do not know how events unfolded. Indeed, I saw the following in the handwriting of a shaykh possessed of knowledge and religious devotion: “Al-Bukhārī died in the village of Khartank. Ahmad then sent word to the villagers, instructing them not to offer the funeral prayer over him because of his position on the ‘question of utterance.’”

This is one of the most blatant lies about Ahmad and al-Bukhārī, and whoever fabricated it knew nothing of their circumstances. For al-Bukhārī—may Allah be pleased with him—died in the year fifty-six, having outlived Ahmad by fifteen