Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Sahl reported to us: Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn al-Hasan narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Uthman narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Umar narrated to us that Ibn Abi Layla said: My father narrated to me: When that man came before Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla, Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman and others testified against him that he had said, “The Quran is created.” A group of people likewise testified against him, in agreement with Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman’s testimony.
Khalid ibn Nafi narrated to me that Ibn Abi Layla wrote to Abu Ja‘far, who was in Medina, informing him of what that man had said, the testimony against him, and his admission. Abu Ja‘far wrote back to him: “If he recants, [leave him]; otherwise, execute him and burn him with fire.” So he repented and retracted his statement concerning the Quran.