2 – A further tier following those already mentioned

18 – Jarir al-Dabbi, the hadith scholar of Rayy (117–118)

149 – Yahya ibn al-Mughira said: I heard Jarir ibn Abd al-Hamid say, “The discourse of the Jahmiyyah begins with honey and ends with poison; in truth they are only trying to say that there is no God in the heaven.”

A similar statement has already been narrated from Hammad ibn Zayd.

130 – The compiler said: Abu Harun Muhammad ibn Khalid narrated to us; Yahya ibn al-Mughira narrated to us … I say: This chain is good; Yahya ibn al-Mughira is reliable, and so is Abu Harun, as stated in al-Jarh wa al-Taʿdil 3/2/245.

19 – ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Mubarak, the Shaykh of Islam (118–181)

150 – It is authentically reported from ʿAli ibn al-Hasan ibn Shaqiq who said: I asked ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Mubarak, “How do we know our Lord?” He replied, “In the seventh heaven, upon His Throne1; we do not say, as the Jahmiyyah say, that He is here on earth.” This was mentioned to Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and he said, “That is exactly what we hold.”

In another wording transmitted by the compiler he said: I asked Ibn al-Mubarak, “How ought we to know our Lord?” He answered, “Above the seventh heaven, upon His Throne, and we do not say, as the Jahmiyyah say, that He is here on earth.”