966 — “People will continue asking, saying, ‘What about such-and-such? What about such-and-such?’ until they say, ‘Allah created people, so who created Allah?’ At that point, they go astray.”

It was narrated by Ibn Abi ʿAsim in al-Sunnah (59/1) through the chain of Muhammad ibn Fudayl, from al-Mukhtar ibn Fulfal, from Anas ibn Malik, attributed to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission according to Muslim’s criteria. Muslim also narrated it (1/85), but without the words, “At that point, they go astray.” He then narrated a similar report from Abu Hurayrah, which includes: “Let him seek refuge in Allah and desist.” It has preceded under (117).

967 — “If the servants did not sin, Allah, the Exalted, would create creatures who would sin, then forgive them; and He is the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.”

It was narrated by al-Hakim (4/246) and Abu Nuʿaym in al-Hilyah (The Adornment) (7/204), from Shuʿbah, from Abu Balj Yahya ibn Abi Sulaym, from ʿAmr ibn Maymun, from ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr, may Allah be pleased with him, attributed to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. He cited it as corroboration for the hadith of Abu Hurayrah that follows it, Allah willing, and made no comment on it.

Its chain of transmission is good. All its narrators are reliable and are among the narrators of the Six Collections, except Abu Balj—whose first letter is pronounced with a fatḥah, followed by a silent lam and then a jim. The original has “Balh,” with a ha, which is an error. He is Yahya ibn Abi Sulaym, and is truthful, though he occasionally erred, as stated in al-Taqrib. It is corroborated by: “If you had no sins for Allah to forgive you, Allah would bring a people who had sins for Him to forgive them.”