267 - Abu Bakr ibn Ishaq al-Saghani said: I do not know anyone among the people of knowledge, neither those who have passed nor those in this era of ours, except that they reject what al-Tirmidhi has introduced by rejecting the hadith of Muhammad ibn Fudayl, from Layth, from Mujahid, regarding His saying, 'It may be that your Lord will raise you to a Praiseworthy Station' [Al-Isra': 79], where he said: 'He will seat him upon the Throne.' Thus, in our view, he is a Jahmi, to be shunned, and we warn against him. For Harun ibn Ma'ruf narrated to us, saying: Muhammad ibn Fudayl narrated to us, from Layth, from Mujahid, regarding His saying, 'It may be that your Lord will raise you to a Praiseworthy Station' [Al-Isra': 79], he said: 'He will seat him upon the Throne.' It has also been narrated from 'Abdullah ibn Salam that he said: 'He will seat him upon the Throne of the Lord, Mighty and Majestic.' It was said to al-Jurayri: 'If he is upon the Throne of the Lord, then he is with Him.' He replied: 'Woe unto you! This is more soothing to my eyes in this world.' Eighty-some years have passed for me, and I have never known anyone to reject the hadith of Mujahid except a Jahmi. The Imams in the provinces have brought it forth, and the scholars have received it with acceptance for over one hundred and fifty years. Furthermore, I do not know this al-Tirmidhi, nor do I know that I have ever seen him in the presence of any scholar of hadith. Therefore, may Allah have mercy on you, you must hold fast to the Sunnah and following it.

Abu Bakr Yahya ibn Abi Talib said: 'I do not know this foreign (A'jami) Jahmi. We do not know him among the scholars of hadith, nor among any of our brethren, and I have not known anyone to reject the hadith of Mujahid, that "He will seat Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, upon the Throne." The people have narrated it from Ibn Fudayl, from Layth, from Mujahid, and the reliable scholars of hadith have accepted it, narrating it before the public without denying it; they receive it with acceptance and joy. As for me, in what I recall of my understanding for the past seventy years, by Allah, I do not know anyone who has rejected it, and no one rejects it except every innovator and wicked Jahmi who calls to something contrary to that which our sheikhs and Imams were upon. May Allah hasten his punishment and remove him from our neighborhood, for he is a calamity to those afflicted by him. Praise be to Allah who has turned away from us that with which He has afflicted him, and what we possess is praise to Allah that we believe in the hadith of Mujahid and speak according to it as it has come down, and we submit to this hadith and other matters that the Jahmiyyah oppose, such as the Vision (of Allah), the attributes, and the proximity of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to Him. This foreigner al-Tirmidhi had written a letter to me in his own hand, which I delivered to Abu Bakr al-Marwudhi, and in it he claimed that whoever speaks by the hadith of Mujahid is a Jahmi and a dualist (Thanawi). The liar, who opposes Islam, has lied. So, beware of him, and inform (others) on my authority that whoever speaks in opposition to what I have written is a Jahmi. If it were possible for me, I would have set him up before the people and proclaimed against him until I publicized him, so that the people might be warned against what he has introduced into Islam. This is my religion by which I worship Allah, Mighty and Majestic; I ask Allah to cause us to die and live upon it.'

'Ali ibn Dawud al-Qantari said: 'To proceed: You must hold fast to the guidance of Abu 'Abdullah Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal, may Allah be pleased with him, for he is the leader of the God-fearing for those after him, and a blow to those who oppose him. This al-Tirmidhi, who attacked Mujahid by rejecting the excellence of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is an innovator. No one rejects the hadith of Muhammad ibn Fudayl, from Layth, from Mujahid, regarding '{It may be that your Lord will raise you to a Praiseworthy Station} [Al-Isra': 79], he said: He will seat him with Him upon the Throne,' except a Jahmi who is to be shunned, not spoken to, and warned against, and (also) warned against anyone who rejects this excellence. I bear witness regarding this al-Tirmidhi that he is a wicked Jahmi. Eighty-four years have passed for me, and I have never seen anyone reject this excellence except a Jahmi. I do not know this man, nor have I ever seen him in the presence of any scholar of hadith at all. I reject what he has brought forth of attacking Mujahid and rejecting the excellence of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that "He will seat Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, upon the Throne," and his claim that whoever speaks by the hadith of Mujahid is a Jahmi and a dualist (Thanawi) who should not be buried in the graveyards of the Muslims. The enemy of Allah has lied, and everyone who says what he says is, in our view, a Jahmi who is to be shunned, not spoken to, and warned against.'

Adam ibn Abi Iyas narrated to me, from Shu'bah ibn al-Hajjaj, from 'Ubaydullah ibn 'Imran, that he said: I heard Mujahid saying: 'I accompanied Ibn 'Umar to serve him, but he was the one who served me.' Would someone like this have his hadith rejected? The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: 'The best of people is my generation in which I was sent, then those who follow them.' Thus, the testimony of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for Mujahid, may Allah have mercy on him, has already preceded.'

Ibrahim al-Harbi said: 'What we know, speak by, and hold as our position is that the only course for one who attacks Mujahid and deems him mistaken is discipline and imprisonment.'