994 - Harb ibn Isma'il al-Kirmani informed me, saying: It was said to Ahmad, "What is the meaning of the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): 'Whoever cheats us is not of us'?" He did not provide an answer regarding it. It was said: "For a people have said: 'Whoever cheats us is not like us.'" He rejected this and said, "This is the interpretation of Mis'ar and 'Abd al-Karim Abu Umayyah; it is the speech of the Murji'ah." Ahmad said: "It reached 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi, and he rejected it, and said, 'If a man were to perform every good deed, would he be like the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)?'"