against those who liken Allah to created beings, citing many of Hishām’s opponents, that he maintained that the Eternal One had the form of a metal ingot. Some said that He had the form of a clear, perfectly spherical crystal, appearing the same from whichever direction one approached it. Others related, as I have mentioned, that He measured seven handspans. He said: “Some related that He possessed a form. They also attributed other things to him which I have seen Hishām’s followers reject and deny