the position of refraining from declaring those who pray unbelievers. Abū al-Hasan said:

“This is an account of the general position of the scholars of hadith and the adherents of the Sunnah. In summary, they affirm Allah Most High, His angels, His Books, His messengers, whatever has come from Allah, and whatever trustworthy narrators have transmitted from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, rejecting none of it. They affirm that Allah, glorified and exalted is He, is one God, unique and self-sufficient; there is no god besides Him, and He has taken neither a consort nor a child. Muhammad is His servant and messenger; Paradise is real, Hell is real, the Hour is coming without doubt, and Allah will resurrect those in the graves.

“They affirm that Allah is upon His Throne, as He said: ‘The Most Merciful rose over the Throne’ {5} [Tā Hā 5]; that He has two hands, without specifying how, as He said: ‘I created with My two hands’ [Sād 75], and as He, Most High, said: ‘Rather, both His hands are outstretched’ [al-Mā’idah 64]; that He has two eyes, without specifying how, as He said: ‘Sailing under Our eyes’ [al-Qamar 14]; and that He has a Face, as He, Most High, said: ‘And the Face of your Lord, full of majesty and honor, will remain’ [al-Rahmān 27]. They affirm that Allah’s names are not to be described as other than Allah, as the Mu‘tazilah claimed