end or limit, and He extends in all six directions: right, left, front, back, above, and below.’ They said: ‘Whatever is thus cannot be called a body, nor described as long, wide, or deep; it has no boundaries, shape, or axis.’”

Al-Ash'arī recorded these views in al-Maqālāt (The Doctrines), and reported that Zuhayr al-Atharī used to say:

“Allah is everywhere, yet He is established over His Throne. He is seen with the eyes, without specifying how, and He is present in His essence everywhere. He is neither a body nor bounded, and He is not subject to indwelling or physical contact. He holds that He will come on the Day of Resurrection, as the Most High says:

‘And your Lord comes, and the angels, rank upon rank’ [al-Fajr: 22],

without specifying how.”

Abū Mu'ādh al-Tūmanī held the same view.

This view, which al-Ash'arī reported from these people, resembles the view of many Sufis and members of the Sālimiyya, such as Abū Tālib al-Makkī and others.

Those who say that He is everywhere in His essence hold differing views: some say that He has a certain spatial extent; some say that He has no limit or end; some say that He is a body; and some say that He is not a body.

Then among these are those who