and His names and attributes are of Him, uncreated. We seek refuge in Allah from error, misgiving, and doubt. Indeed, He has power over all things.”

Al-Khallāl said: “Abū al-Qāsim al-Jabalī also transmitted to me from Hanbal this addition to the statement: ‘And He, Blessed and Exalted, said:

“Allah—there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all existence.” [al-Baqarah 255]

“There is no deity except Him, the Sovereign, the Most Holy, the Source of Peace, the Giver of Security, the Guardian, the Almighty, the Compeller, the Supremely Great.” [al-Hashr 23]

These are the attributes and names of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, Blessed and Exalted.’”

These words of Imam Abū ‘Abd Allāh Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, make clear that he denied that Allah’s servants can set any limit to Allah Most High or His attributes, assign any measure to them, or reach the point of being able to describe that. This does not contradict the earlier affirmation that He has, in Himself, a limit which He alone knows and no one else knows, or that it is He who describes Himself. The statements of all the other imams of the early generations follow the same course: they affirm these realities while denying that Allah’s servants know their true nature, as we have quoted from their statements in