Ahmad, together with a group of al-Ash'arī’s followers among the theologians who affirm the divine attributes, say:

“It is neither Allah nor other than Him.”

The earlier formulation is correct, as has been explained at length elsewhere. The term “other” is ambiguous, so it cannot properly be applied to an attribute, either affirmatively or negatively. It is valid, however, to reject applying it in either way. The early generations said the same concerning “compulsion” and similar ambiguous terms: they should not be used without qualification, whether to affirm or deny.

Saying, “Neither formulation is to be used,” does not entail affirming a third category that is neither the one possessing the attribute nor other than that one. Rather, it entails affirming something to which the term “other” is not applied, not something whose distinctness is denied.

'Abd al-'Azīz’s point is that power is an attribute of Allah, not the act that proceeded from that power. He says, “Allah has always possessed power,” but does not say, “He has always been acting.”

Al-Marīsī countered: “This implication also applies to you. You must therefore say, ‘He has always been acting and creating.’ If you say that, then it is established that the created thing has always existed alongside Allah.”

'Abd al-'Azīz replied: “You have no right to pass judgment on me and blame me for something that does not follow from my position, or to attribute to me what I have not said.” For 'Abd al-'Azīz had made no statement on this matter that could be reported