[The purport of the words of Rabīʿah and Mālik: “al-istiwāʾ is not unknown”]:

The statement of Rabīʿah and Mālik—“al-istiwāʾ (establishment over the Throne) is not unknown, and its modality is beyond comprehension”—is in full harmony with what the other early scholars said: “Pass the texts on as they have come, without asking how.” They were negating knowledge of the ‘how’, not denying the reality of the attribute itself.

Had those scholars believed only in a bare expression, devoid of any meaning appropriate to Allah, they would not have said, “al-istiwāʾ is not unknown, and its modality is beyond comprehension,” nor would they have said, “Pass them on as they have come, without asking how.” In such a case al-istiwāʾ would be unknowable, no different from the disconnected letters of the alphabet.

Furthermore, there is no need to negate knowledge of the modality when no meaning is understood from the wording; one resorts to negating the ‘how’ only when the attribute has first been affirmed.

Likewise, someone who denies the revelatory attributes—or rejects all attributes altogether—has no reason to add, “without asking how.” Whoever says that Allah, exalted is He, is not upon the Throne,