That, then, is the very “partition” and “distinction” whose existence they so emphatically deny. It is the cornerstone of the doctrine held by the negators (1) among the Jahmiyyah who divest Allah of His attributes; and, as the great imams have said, they (2) in truth affirm nothing at all. For this reason Imām Abū ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-Barr (3) declared:

“My view is this: when one reflects (4) on the acceptance of Islam (5) by Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, ʿAlī, Saʿd, Saʿīd, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (6), the rest of the Emigrants and Helpers, and all the delegations that entered the religion of Allah in crowds, he will realize that none of them came to know Allah—Mighty and Majestic—except by believing the prophets, through the signs (7) of prophethood and the proofs of messengership. They did not attain that knowledge by pondering motion or rest (8), nor through the categories of whole and part, nor through the formula of ‘was’ and ‘will be.’ Had it been obligatory for them to examine motion and rest, or to affirm or negate corporeality and resemblance, they would not have neglected it (9); and had they failed in any obligation, the Quran would not have spoken (10) in praise of them and given them precedence. I shall not prolong the discussion.”