whereupon ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak replied, “I am more averse to that than anyone, yet when the Book—that is, the Quran—speaks of something, we affirm it; and when the transmitted reports (al-āthār) relate something, we boldly uphold it,” or words to that effect.

Ibn al-Mubārak meant that we dislike initiating a description of Allah on the basis of our own minds until the Quran and the reports have conveyed it.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad and others narrate with sound chains of transmission that Ibn al-Mubārak was asked, “By what do we know our Lord?” He answered, “By knowing that He is above His heavens, upon His Throne, distinct from His creation. We do not say, as the Jahmiyyah say, that He is here on earth.”