(1) The author states: “Al-qadim (‘the Ancient’) could be intended either as an epithet of the Divine Name or as an epithet of the Quran. If he meant the former, then God’s names and attributes are divinely prescribed (tawqifiyyah), and it is impermissible to ascribe to God anything not established by the transmitted texts. Even if one allows some latitude in reporting, it remains impermissible to consider it among His names. Ibn Abi al-‘Izz al-Hanafi, in his Sharh al-Tahawiyya (pp. 77–78), comments: “The theologians have indeed included al-qadim among the names of God, yet it is not one of the asma’ al-husna (Beautiful Names). In classical Arabic—the language in which the Quran was revealed—al-qadim denotes that which precedes all others in time. It is said: ‘This is qadim compared to the ancient (al-‘atiq), and this is new compared to the new.’ They never applied it to something that never experienced nonexistence, as in God’s words: ‘…until it became like the ancient trunk.’ The ‘ancient trunk’ is that which endures until the second trunk appears; once the new exists, the first is called qadim. And He says: ‘…and when they had not been guided by it, they will say, “This is an old falsehood.”’ There, qadim means ‘prior in time.’ He also says: ‘Say, “Have you considered what you used to worship?”’ The intensive form al-aqdam magnifies the notion of precedence, as in the phrase ‘the Ancient and the New’ attributed to al-Shāfi‘ī, and in His statement: ‘He shall precede His people on the Day of Resurrection,’ meaning ‘He goes before them.’ The verb qaddama is used both intransitively and transitively—for example, ‘what preceded me and what followed me,’ or ‘this precedes that.’ The foot (qadam) is so named because it goes before the rest of the leg. Although most theologians accept al-qadim as a divine name, many of the Salaf and Khalaf—including Ibn Ḥazm—rejected it. Undoubtedly, if one understands it in the sense of literal precedence, then He who preceded all created things is most entitled to precedence. Yet God’s names are the asma’ al-husna that specifically denote the attributes for which He is praised, whereas ‘precedence’ in the language is a general concept, not restricted to precedence over all creation. Hence it cannot rank among the Beautiful Names. Moreover, Scripture has given Him the name al-awwal (the First), which is superior to al-qadim because it conveys that whatever follows is dependent upon Him—unlike ‘the Ancient.’ God, exalted be He, possesses the Beautiful Names, not merely a single ‘beautiful’ name.”