Holy Spirit, for the plain sense of those words entails plurality and resemblance. By the same token, we could also charge them—with equal justice—with corporealism and anthropomorphism for saying that Allah has two eyes, two hands, a face, a shin, and a side; that His very Essence moves from one place to another; that He rose over the Throne after previously not being upon it; and other statements whose outward wording likewise suggests embodiment and likeness.

The answer may be given from several angles.

First: It can be said that whoever believes in what the messengers brought and repeats their words—without distorting either the wording or the meaning—incurs no blame. By contrast, anyone who invents propositions the messengers never uttered, propositions that actually contradict their teachings, and who alters their words, whether in wording and meaning together or in meaning alone, deserves to be censured by the unanimous agreement of all groups.

The bedrock of the Muslims’ religion is that they describe Allah only with what He has described Himself in His Scriptures and with what His messengers have described Him: without distortion or denial, and without asking how or drawing any comparison. Rather, they affirm for Him—Exalted is He—whatever He has affirmed for Himself, and they negate from Him whatever He has negated from Himself. In doing so they follow the statements of His messengers and avoid whatever contradicts those statements, just as He, the Most High, has said:

“Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of might, above what they attribute to Him” (Qur’an 37:180)—that is, above what the unbelievers who oppose the messengers attribute to Him—

“and peace be upon the messengers” (Qur’an 37:181).