many groups upon doctrines known to be false by self-evident reason, such as the doctrines of the Christians, the Rāfidah, and the Jahmiyyah.

[Ibn Kullāb’s discussion in The Book of Attributes of Allah’s being above His creation, and Ibn Taymiyyah’s commentary]

Furthermore, the earlier scholars of rational inquiry report that all creation agrees upon the opposite of what the negationists maintain. This was mentioned by Abū Muhammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Saʿīd ibn Kullāb, the leading authority for al-Ashʿarī and his followers. He mentioned it in The Book of Attributes, in a passage transmitted from him by Abū Bakr ibn Fūrak. In that book, in the chapter “On Rising Above,” he said:

“So the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)—Allah’s chosen one from among His creation, the finest of His creatures, and the most knowledgeable of them all about Him—permits asking ‘Where?’ and asks it himself. He approves the statement ‘He is in heaven’ and, on that basis, testifies to the speaker’s faith. Yet Jahm ibn Safwān and his followers, as they claim, do not permit asking ‘Where?’ and regard speaking in such terms as untenable. Had this been wrong, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would have been the foremost to condemn it. He should have said to her: ‘Do not say that, for you would give the impression that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is bounded and is in one place rather than another. Instead, say: “He is everywhere,” for that is correct, unlike what you said.’