323—In some of the books [6806] of Abu Hatim Muhammad ibn Idris ibn al-Mundhir al-Hanzali al-Razi, containing what was heard from him, I found him saying:
“Our school and chosen position is to follow the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, his Companions, the Successors, and those who followed them in righteousness; to refrain from speculative inquiry into the matters in which they introduced innovations; to hold fast to the way of the people of hadith, such as Abu Abd Allah Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ishaq ibn Ibrahim, Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam, and al-Shafi‘i; to adhere to the Quran and the sunnah; to defend the imams who follow the transmitted teachings of the Salaf; and to adopt the rulings chosen, regarding newly arisen matters for which no report is found from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the Companions, or the Successors, by the Sunni imams of the various regions, such as Malik ibn Anas in Medina, al-Awza‘i in Syria, al-Layth ibn Sa‘d in Egypt, and Sufyan al-Thawri and Hammad ibn Ziyad in Iraq.
“It is also our position to abandon the opinions of those who confuse, deceive, embellish falsehood, practice imposture, and lie; to refrain from examining the books of al-Karabisi; and to avoid those among his associates who champion him and contend over his views, such as Dawud al-Asbahani, those like him, and his followers.
“The Quran is the speech of Allah and is of His knowledge; His names and attributes, and His commands and prohibitions, are not created in any respect. ⦗203⦘ Whoever claims that it is created or made has disbelieved in Allah with a disbelief that removes one from the religion. Whoever doubts the disbelief of such a person—while understanding the matter and not being ignorant of it—is likewise a disbeliever.
“Those who withhold judgment on this matter and those who say that their utterance of the Quran is created are Jahmites; Abu Abd Allah Ahmad ibn Hanbal classified them as Jahmites. Following consists in adhering to the transmitted reports from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and from the Companions and the Successors after them who followed in righteousness. It also consists in abandoning the discourse of the speculative theologians, avoiding their gatherings and boycotting them, and refraining from sitting with those who compose books based on personal opinion without transmitted reports.
“Our chosen position is that faith consists of speech and action: affirmation by the tongue, conviction in the heart, and deeds performed by the limbs, such as prayer; zakat for one who possesses wealth; pilgrimage for whoever is able to undertake it; fasting the month of Ramadan; and all the obligations which Allah has imposed upon His servants. Acting upon them is part of faith. Faith increases and decreases.
“We believe in the punishment of the grave, the Basin with which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, has been honored, the questioning in the grave, the noble recording angels, and the intercession uniquely granted to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. We ask Allah to have mercy upon all the Companions of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and we do not revile any of them, in accordance with His saying:
“‘And those who came after them say, “Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith, and do not place in our hearts any resentment toward those who have believed. Our Lord, indeed You are the Most Kind, the Most Merciful.”’” ⦗204⦘
“We hold and affirm as correct that Allah is above His Throne, distinct from His creation: ‘There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.’ [Surah al-Shura 42:11]
“We do not hold rebellion against the rulers to be permissible, nor do we fight in times of tribulation. We hear and obey whomever Allah has placed in authority over us. We hold that prayer, pilgrimage, and jihad are to be performed with the rulers, and that the zakat due on livestock is to be delivered to them.
“We believe in the authentic reports stating that, through intercession, a people from among those who affirm Allah’s oneness will be brought forth from the Fire. We say, ‘We are believers in Allah.’ Sufyan al-Thawri disliked for a person to say, ‘I am truly a believer in the sight of Allah, possessing complete faith’; al-Awza‘i held the same view.
“The mark of the people of innovation is their attacking the people of hadith. The mark of the Jahmites is that they call the people of the sunnah Mushabbihah (anthropomorphists) and Nabita (upstarts). The mark of the Qadariyyah is that they call the people of the sunnah Mujabbirah (fatalists). The mark of the heretics is that they call the people of hadith Hashwiyyah (the rabble). By this, they seek to invalidate the transmitted reports from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.
“May Allah grant us and every believer success in the words and deeds that He loves and is pleased with. May Allah bless Muhammad and his family and grant them peace.”