635 — Abd al-Rahman also said: Zakariyya ibn Bakr ibn Dawud narrated to us: I heard Abu Qudamah al-Sarakhsī say: I heard Abu Mu'adh al-Balkhi—that is, Khalaf ibn Sulayman—in Farghana, say:

“Jahm was at the crossing of Tirmidh. He was a man of Kufan origin, eloquent of speech, but he had no knowledge and did not keep the company of the people of knowledge. He had adopted the discourse of the speculative theologians. The Sumanis spoke with him and said, ‘Describe for us your Lord whom you worship.’ So he entered his house and did not come out for such-and-such a time. Then, after some days, he came out to them and said, ‘He is this air: with everything, within everything, and nothing is devoid of Him.’ ⦗424⦘

Abu Mu'adh said: ‘The enemy of Allah has lied. Indeed, Allah is above the heavens, over His Throne, just as He has described Himself.’”