and with whatever our Master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, has affirmed for Him—without taʾwīl (figurative reinterpretation), taḥrīf (distortion), tashbīh (likening Him to creation), or tamthīl (drawing parallels): “There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”

So I say—and Allah’s help is sought:

1. A Salafi and a Kawtharī at the same time?! These are two opposites that can never coexist. How, then, does Abū Ghuddah persist in being a Kawtharī on the very issues whose details we laid out in the introduction, pointed to earlier, and from which we asked him to disown himself—yet he refused—while he now proclaims that he is Salafi in creed? Is this not proof supporting our description of him as “playing both sides”? With those who hold the Salafi creed, he is Salafi; with the Kawtharīs, he is Kawtharī! By Allah, this is truly astonishing. Had al-Kawtharī himself been alive, he would have repudiated you for combining two contradictions and for your double-dealing; and I testify—despite his misguidance—that he was better than you in frankness and further removed from such blatant hypocrisy.

2. Let me ask you: can you imagine any Muslim—whether Salafi or Ashʿarī, Māturīdī or otherwise, Deobandī or Kawtharī—who would dare to say anything different from the sweet-sounding statement you have offered to prove that you are Salafi in creed? Every Muslim says the same, even your own teacher al-Kawtharī, despite his gross deviance. He could not possibly say otherwise—though he lashes out at the defenders of the Salafi creed—for if he did, the curtain would be lifted. What, then, is the real difference between the Salaf and the Khalaf on this matter? The answer is as follows:

The Salafi position on the Divine Attributes and the stance of today’s preachers

1. The Salaf describe Allah, exalted is He, with whatever He has described Himself in