Abu Jaʿfar also told me: “I heard al-Ḥasan ibn Musa al-Ashyab mention the Jahmiyya and speak harshly against them. He then said:

‘A leading figure among the zindiqs, a man called Shamghala, was brought before the Caliph al-Mahdi. Al-Mahdi asked him, “Show me your followers.”

Shamghala replied, “My followers are far more numerous than can be gathered here.”

Al-Mahdi said, “Point them out to me.”

Shamghala answered, “They fall into two groups who nonetheless claim the qiblah as theirs: the Qadariyya and the Jahmiyya. When a Jahmi takes his view to its extreme, he declares, ‘There is nothing there,’—and al-Ashyab pointed upward toward the sky—whereas when a Qadari goes to extremes, he claims, ‘There are two creators: one for good and another for evil.’”

So al-Mahdi ordered that Shamghala’s neck be struck and that he be crucified.’”