years, for Ahmad died in the year forty-one. Ahmad held al-Bukhārī in honour and esteem. As for the esteem in which al-Bukhārī and others like him held Ahmad, this is too well known to need mentioning. In his book on the creation of actions, al-Bukhārī stated that neither group understood Ahmad’s words.
Among the other group, who profess adherence to the Sunnah and affiliation with Ahmad’s followers, are Abū Nu‘aym al-Asbahānī, Abū Bakr al-Bayhaqī, and others who say that they follow Ahmad and that their position on the “question of utterance” agrees with his. A dispute arose between Ibn Mandah and Abū Nu‘aym over this, leading Abū Nu‘aym to write his Refutation of the Hurūfiyyah Hulūliyyah, while Abū ‘Abd Allāh wrote his Refutation of the Lafziyyah.
Those who champion the Sunnah among the scholars of speculative theology and jurisprudence—such as al-Ash‘arī, Judge Abū Bakr ibn al-Tayyib, Judge Abū Ya‘lā, and others—agree with Ahmad in censuring both groups: those who say, “My utterance of the Quran is created,” and those who say, “My utterance of the Quran is uncreated.” They maintain, however, that the reason for this disapproval is that the Quran is not “uttered,” because lafz (utterance) means casting or throwing.
Some of these deny that Allah speaks with a voice, while others affirm it. Indeed, some say that the sound heard is the eternal sound. Nevertheless, they censure anyone who says, “My utterance of the Quran is uncreated,” because they suppose that the disapproval