Ahmad ibn ‘Ubayd informed us; he said: Muhammad ibn al-Husayn informed us; he said: Ibn Zuhayr narrated to us; he said: Ibn Abi Rizmah narrated to us; he said: Abu al-Wazir Muhammad ibn A‘yan narrated to us; he said: A man asked al-Nadr ibn Muhammad about the Quran. Al-Nadr replied: “Whoever says that this verse—‘Indeed, I am Allah. There is no god worthy of worship except Me, so worship Me’ [Ta-Ha: 14]—is created has disbelieved.”

I then met ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak and told him about it. He said: “Abu Muhammad spoke the truth—may Allah grant him well-being. Allah would never command us to worship something created.”