they said that His length was equal to His breadth figuratively, not literally; and that He had once existed without being in a place, then came to occupy a place when the Creator moved: His movement brought the place into existence, and He was in it. He claimed that this place was the Throne.

He said that Abū al-Hudhayl mentioned in one of his books that Hishām ibn al-Hakam told him that his Lord was indeed a body that comes and goes, sometimes moving and sometimes remaining still, sometimes sitting and sometimes standing; and that He had length, breadth and depth, because anything lacking these would amount to nonexistence. Abū al-Hudhayl said: “I asked him, ‘Which is greater: your god or this mountain?’” He added: “I pointed to Mount Abū Qubays.” He continued: “He replied, ‘This mountain surpasses Him’—that is, it is greater than Him.”

He also said that Ibn al-Rāwandī mentioned that Hishām ibn al-Hakam used to say that there was a resemblance between his god and observable bodies