and the latter was one of Ahmad’s opponents. Husayn al-Najjār and a group of the Muʿtazilah held that “the One” means that which has no likeness, as when one says, “So-and-so is unique in his age.” They may also say that monotheism encompasses both meanings: the first negates corporeality, while the second negates resemblance. For, in their view, negating the attributes amounts to negating corporeality, while the other meaning negates resemblance; and monotheism is incompatible with resemblance and corporeality.

Their position, in sum, is that monotheism encompasses three meanings: He is one in Himself, having neither attributes nor magnitude, and is therefore not composite