“…and He is on His Throne above His heavens; these are two distinct limits.” He then added: “Whoever claims that God has no limit has rejected the Qur’an and has implied that He is nothing, for God has set the limit of His place in many passages of His Book where He says: ‘The All-Merciful settled Himself upon the Throne’ (Q 20:5); ‘Do you feel secure from Him Who is in the heaven?’ (Q 67:16); ‘They fear their Lord above them’ (Q 16:50); ‘I will take you and raise you to Myself’ (Q 3:55); ‘To Him ascends the good word’ (Q 35:10). All these and similar verses are proofs and evidences of the limit.” Naqd al-Darimi ‘ala al-Marisi, 1/223-226. Shaykh al-Islam said: “The scholars who are renowned for leadership in the Sunnah affirmed it, as ‘Uthman b. Sa‘id related from them, naming among them Ibn al-Mubarak.” Bayan Talbis al-Jahmiyya, 2/160 (ed. Ibn Qasim). The purpose of the early scholars in speaking of a “limit” was to block the claim of the Jahmiyya that God is present in every place. As for the reports from Imam Ahmad that appear to deny a limit for God, Shaykh al-Islam explained them as follows: “This statement of Imam Abu ‘Abd Allah Ahmad—may God have mercy on him—shows that he negated that servants could set a limit for God or for His attributes, or measure that, or reach a full description of it. This does not contradict what has preceded—namely, that in Himself He has a limit known only to Him, or that He is the One who describes Himself. The same applies to the words of the other imams among the Salaf: they affirm the realities while denying that human beings know their true nature.” Bayan Talbis al-Jahmiyya, 1/433 (ed. Ibn Qasim). (1) In MS T: “Allah, exalted is He, is on His Throne; He has no limit—Allah knows best His limit.” In MS H: “Allah, exalted is He, is on His Throne, and He has a limit.” (2) In MSS T and H the phrase “—exalted is He” is added.