I said, “In hadith criticism a confirmed statement outweighs a mere denial. Al-Bukhari only said that he was unaware of Ibn ʿUmayrah’s having heard (1) from al-Ahnaf; he did not claim that no one else possessed such knowledge. Therefore, when another scholar—Imām al-Aʾimmah (2)—knew of it and affirmed it, his knowledge and affirmation take precedence over someone else’s negation and lack of knowledge.” The gathering concurred.

Some of them then proceeded to heap praise on me in terms I do not consider appropriate to repeat.

They also began to debate issues that were not, strictly speaking, matters of creed, though they were related to answers I had given on certain questions and, in their estimation, had some bearing on doctrine.

One of their leading figures (3) produced al-Bayhaqī’s book Al-Asmāʾ wa-l-Ṣifāt and said, “In this work the face (wajh) is interpreted allegorically by the early authorities.”

I replied, “Perhaps you are referring to the divine words, ‘So wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah’ (4) (Qur’an 2:115).”

He said, “Yes. Mujāhid and al-Shāfiʿī said it means ‘the qiblah of Allah.’”

I responded, “That is authentically reported from them and from others (5), and it is correct. Nevertheless, this verse is not among the verses that describe the divine attributes; whoever counts it as such is mistaken, as certain groups have done. The context itself makes the intended meaning clear, for He says, ‘To Allah belong the East and the West; so wherever…’”