Ibn Qutaybah relates...

Ibn Qutaybah relates: A heretic came to Hisham, and said to him: 'I will say two things: I am aware of your impartiality and I am not afraid of your dissention.' Then he began to dispute with him, and Hisham interrupted him quickly, and gave him a satisfactory answer.[^11] What we have presented about the character of Hisham demands that we reinterpret the relationship of Abu Shakir ad- Daysani – a renowned atheist – with Hisham to one of friend- ship and companionship between them based on a relationship of controversy, inquiry, and discussion of their differences of opinion and belief.

Perhaps Abu Shakir asked him to seek permission for him to visit the Imam as-Sadiq, peace be upon him,[^12] and perhaps they quarreled, and the discussion wound up at a point where Hisham no longer had an answer, as Hisham tells us, when he says that he met with as-Sadiq, peace be upon him, in Madinah, and learnt the answer from him, and then met Abu Shakir in Kufah and told it to him, and the latter said: "This came from the Hijaz."[^13] Nevertheless, this high character was transformed by his adversaries into slander and defamation.

Al-Khayyat says, in reply to those who accused the Mu‘tazilah of taking some of their ideas from ad-Daysani: Rather, the one accused of the doctrine of the Daysaniyyah is the shaykh of the Rafidah, their scholar, Hisham ibn al-Hakam, a known companion of Abu Shakir ad-Daysani. . .[^14] His theological personality and intellectual activities Hisham's connections with theologians and leaders of sects increased after he took over leadership of the Barmakid debat- ing group.

After the caliph Harun arrested the Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far in the year 179/795, Hisham was forced to emigrate to Baghdad for an indefinite time and to take refuge with Yahya ibn Khalid al-Barmaki (120/738–190/805), the famous ‘Abbasid minister, and seek his protection.

He eventually became, as the biographers state, 'devoted to Yahya ibn Khalid al-Barmaki, and led his sessions in theology and inquiry.'[^15] Yahya ibn Khalid had a majlis in his home, which was attended by theologians from all the religious sects and creeds on Sunday, and they argued with one another about their beliefs, and raised objections against each other.[^16] It was natural that this theological debating group, which convened weekly in the presence of the most powerful man in the state after the Caliph, should have been organized and presided over by Hisham.