611 — Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hafs informed us; Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Salamah narrated to us; Abu Salih Khalaf ibn Muhammad ibn Isma‘il narrated to us, saying: I heard Abu ‘Amr Ahmad ibn Nasr ibn Ibrahim al-Naysaburi, known as al-Khaffaf in Bukhara, say:
“One day, we were with Abu Ishaq al-Qurashi, and Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazi was with us. Muhammad ibn Isma‘il was mentioned, whereupon Muhammad ibn Nasr said: ‘I heard him say: Whoever claims that I said, “My utterance of the Quran is created,” is a liar, for I never said it.’
“I said to him, ‘O Abu ‘Abd Allah, people have delved deeply into this matter and spoken about it at length.’ He replied, ‘There is nothing beyond what I tell you and report to you from him.’”
Abu ‘Amr al-Khaffaf said: “I then went to Muhammad ibn Isma‘il and discussed some matters of hadith with him until he was at ease. Then I said to him, ‘O Abu ‘Abd Allah, there is a man here who relates from you that you made this statement.’ He said to me: ‘O Abu ‘Amr, retain what I say: Whoever among the people of Naysabur, Qumis, Rayy, Hamadan, Hulwan, Baghdad, Kufa, Medina, Mecca, and Basra claims that I said, “My utterance of the Quran is created,” is a liar, for I never made this ⦗397⦘ statement. Rather, I said: The actions of the servants are created.’”