932—Abd al-Rahman cited it. He said: My father narrated to us; Abd al-Rahman ibn Umar al-Asbahani narrated to us. He said: I heard Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi say to a young man from the descendants of Ja'far ibn Sulayman, “Stay where you are.” So he remained seated until the people had dispersed. Then he said:

“You know of the sectarian tendencies and disagreements in this district. I have tolerated all of that willingly, except for your affair and what has reached me concerning it. For a matter remains insignificant so long as it does not reach you”—meaning, the ruling authorities—“but once it reaches you, it becomes grave and serious.”

The young man said, “Abu Sa'id, what is it?” He replied, “I have heard that you speak about the Lord—may He be exalted—describing Him and likening Him to creation.” The young man said, “Yes,” and began to speak about the divine attributes. Abd al-Rahman said, “Take it slowly, my son. Let us first speak about a created being. If we are incapable of comprehending created things, then we are even more incapable of comprehending the Creator.” ⦗586⦘

“Tell me about a hadith which Shubah narrated to me from al-Shaybani, who said: I heard Zirr say that Abdullah said, concerning His words, ‘He certainly saw some of his Lord’s greatest signs’ [al-Najm 53:18]: ‘He saw Gabriel, who had six hundred wings.’”

The young man said, “Yes,” recognizing the hadith. Abd al-Rahman then said, “Describe for me one of Allah’s creatures that has six hundred wings.” The young man remained staring at him. Abd al-Rahman said, “My son, I shall make the matter easier for you: I will relieve you of five hundred and ninety-seven of them. Describe for me a creature with three wings, its third wing placed somewhere other than the two places in which Allah placed the other two, so that I may know.”

The young man said, “Abu Sa'id, we have proved incapable of describing a created being; thus, we are even more incapable of describing the Creator. I call you to witness that I have retracted from that, and I seek Allah’s forgiveness.”