1800 - Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Simsar informed us, saying: Muhanna narrated to us, saying: I asked Harith al-Baqqal: 'What do you say about the Qur'an?' He replied: 'The Qur'an is the Speech of Allah; I do not say: "Uncreated."' I said to him: 'O Abu 'Abd Allah, Ahmad ibn Hanbal says: "It is the Speech of Allah, [and it is] uncreated."' He said to me: 'My brother, Ahmad ibn Hanbal is trustworthy and upright.' He said: And I asked Abu Ya'qub Ishaq ibn Sulayman al-Jawwaz about the Qur'an, and he said: 'It is the Speech of Allah, and it is uncreated.' Then he said to me: 'If we were to say: "The Qur'an is the Speech of Allah," and not say [it is] created nor uncreated, then there would be no difference between us and these Jahmiyya.' I mentioned that to Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and Ahmad said: 'May Allah reward Abu Ya'qub with good.' He said: And I asked Ahmad, shortly after he was released from prison, 'What do you say about the Qur'an?' He replied: 'It is the Speech of Allah, [and it is] uncreated.' And he said: 'Whoever narrates anything other than this statement from me is a falsifier.' I said to him: 'Some people reported from you that you said to them: "It is the Speech of Allah," and that you said to them: "[It is] neither created nor uncreated, but rather it is the Speech of Allah."' Ahmad replied: 'He has falsified; I did not say this, but rather it is the Speech of Allah, and it is uncreated.'