of an unfamiliar voice and unprecedented speech concerning the Divine Decree, speaking about it at the beginning of the Marwanid rule. Abdullah ibn Umar was asked about it, so he related to him the report from the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, affirming the Divine Decree and belief in it, and warning against opposing it. He further stated that Ibn Umar disavowed anyone who spoke of this or held it as a belief, and that they likewise disavowed him. The matter was similarly put to Ibn Abbas, Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, and others, and they gave him the same response. We shall mention these statements with their chains of transmission and exact wordings in the places where they are relevant, if Allah wills.

[How the Qadariyyah Were Dealt With by Scholars and Rulers]

Then this doctrine receded, and whoever had proclaimed it withdrew into his hole. Those who believed in it remained confined to their homes, hiding themselves in cellars like the dead in their graves, out of fear of being killed, crucified, punished, or despoiled as the rulers pursued them in order to enforce Allah’s prescribed penalties upon them. Indeed, these were carried out upon many of them, and we shall mention their names in the appropriate places. The rulers urged the scholars to pursue them, commanded the Muslims to keep away from them, and forbade them from speaking with them, listening to them, or associating with them, in order to safeguard their religion. They publicly denounced them among the people for the novel opinions and vile doctrines they had adopted, fearing that through their deceit they might lead a Muslim astray from his religion by means of a specious argument and a trial, or through the embellishment of eloquent speech. Their lives were like death,