the discourse would not have been understood; yet we do know that whatever is unique to God and sets Him apart from His creation is far greater than anything the mind can conceive or the imagination can envision.

Second principle: speech about the attributes is governed by the same rule as speech about the Essence

This becomes evident in the second foundational rule, namely that discussion of the attributes follows the very same logic as discussion of the Essence: “Nothing is comparable to Him” in His Essence, His attributes, or His acts. Since He possesses a true Essence that resembles no other essence, that Essence is qualified by genuine attributes that resemble none of the attributes possessed by other beings.

Answer to one who asks about the modality of a divine attribute

If an inquirer says, “How did He rise over the Throne?” he is answered—exactly as Rabiʿa, Malik, and others replied—“The rising (istiwa) is known; its modality is unknown; believing in it is obligatory, and asking about the ‘how’ is an innovation.”