1825 - Muhammad b. 'Ali informed me that Ya'qub b. Khattan narrated to them that he asked Abu 'Abd Allah [Ahmad b. Hanbal] about the one who says: 'The Quran is the Word of Allah, not created,' and about a man who says: 'The Quran is the Word of Allah,' believes that it is not created, and declares the one who claims it is created to be a disbeliever (kafir). Is this man to be spoken to? He said: 'One should speak to the one who holds that it is not created, but the one who remains silent [on the issue] should be shunned.'