If someone were to ask1, “You have rejected the views of the Muʿtazilah, the Qadariyyah, the Jahmiyyah, the Ḥarūriyyah, the Rāfiḍah, and the Murjiʾah; then tell us the doctrine you affirm and the religion you follow,”

the reply would be:

Our doctrine, which we profess, and our religion, to which we adhere2, is to hold fast to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet3—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—as well as to what has been narrated from the Companions, the Followers, and the leading hadith scholars. To all of this we cling. We also adopt the position of Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal4—may Allah illuminate his face, raise his rank, and grant him an abundant reward—and we keep away from anyone who opposes his stance. He was the virtuous imam, the consummate leader through whom Allah made the truth manifest when misguidance became widespread, clarified the path, suppressed the innovations of the innovators, the deviations of the deviant, and the doubts of the doubters. So may Allah’s mercy be upon him, that foremost imam and great teacher, and upon all the imams of the Muslims.

In sum, our creed is this: We affirm Allah, His angels, His books, and His messengers; everything that has come from Allah; and all that the trustworthy transmitters have reported from the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—we reject none of it whatsoever.

We hold that Allah is one God—unique, singular, self-sufficient—with no deity besides Him5; He has taken neither consort nor child.

We hold that Muḥammad is His servant and His messenger6, and that Paradise and Hellfire are real.