in his book al-Sunnah he narrates: Abu Bakr al-Athram told us; Ibrahim ibn al-Harith—meaning al-ʿAbbādī—told us; al-Layth ibn Yahya told us; I heard Ibrahim ibn al-Ashʿath say—Abu Bakr, the companion of al-Fuḍayl, added: I heard al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ say: “It is not for us to imagine how Allah is, for Allah, exalted is He, has described Himself most perfectly when He said: ‘Say: He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Ever-Sustaining Refuge; He neither begets nor is born; and there is none comparable to Him’ (Surah al-Ikhlās). No description is more comprehensive than the one He has given of Himself. And all of this—His descent, His laughter, this boasting, and this …”