He said: Abū ʿĪsā al-Warrāq claimed that one of Hishām’s followers once replied to him that Allah, exalted and holy is He, is upon the Throne, in contact with it, and that He does not extend beyond the Throne, nor does the Throne extend beyond Him.

He said: The second sect of the Imāmī Rāfidah claim that their Lord is neither a form nor like other bodies. In calling Him a body, they mean only that He exists. They do not affirm that the Creator Most High has constituent parts or portions joined together. They claim that Allah, exalted and holy is He, is established over the Throne, without contact and without specifying how.

The third sect among them claim that their Lord, exalted and holy is He, has a human form, but deny that He is a body.

The fourth sect among them are the Hishāmiyyah, the followers of Hishām ibn