and it is.’ (al-Nahl 16:40)

I then said to them, ‘Allah, exalted is He, also says: “The command of Allah has come” (al-Nahl 16:1). His command—His speech and His power—is not created. Therefore do not set one part of the Book of Allah against another, for we have been forbidden to do that.’

Hanbal reported:

Abu ʿAbd Allah continued, ‘I argued with them, saying: You claim that you reject reports because of the differences in their chains of transmission and the possibility of error and weakness within them. Yet this Quran is something upon which both we and you are agreed; there is no dispute over it among the people who face the qibla, and that is consensus.

‘Allah—Mighty and Exalted—states in His Book, confirming the statement of Abraham without rebutting his words or what He related from him:

“When he said to his father, ‘My father! Why do you worship that which neither hears nor sees and cannot benefit you in the least?’” (Maryam 19:42).

‘Thus Abraham censured his father for worshipping what neither hears nor sees. According to you, however, this is objectionable.’

They cried out, ‘Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphism, O Commander of the Faithful!’

I replied, ‘Is this not the Quran? Do you regard it as objectionable and reject it? And here is the story of Moses: Allah—Mighty and Exalted—says about Himself in His Book:

“Allah spoke to Moses” (al-Nisāʾ 4:164).

‘Allah thereby affirmed speech for Moses as an honour to him. He then said,

“O Moses! Indeed, I—am Allah; there is no deity but Me, so worship Me” (Ṭāhā 20:14).

‘Yet you deny this. Could that pronoun possibly refer to anyone other than Allah, or could some created being claim lordship? Could anyone but Allah utter such words? He also said to him:

“O Moses, do not fear” (al-Naml 27:10),

“Indeed, I¹ am your Lord, so remove your sandals” (Ṭāhā 20:12).’