Ahmad ibn Hanbal—may Allah brighten his face, raise his rank, and grant him abundant reward—we subscribe, and we shun whatever contradicts his teaching. For he is the distinguished imam and consummate leader through whom Allah made the truth manifest when misguidance arose, clarified the path, and quelled the innovations of the innovators, the deviations of those who strayed, and the doubts of the doubters. May Allah have mercy on him, a foremost imam and a great teacher, and on all the imams of the Muslims.

Our position, in brief, is that we believe in Allah—glorified and exalted is He—His angels, His Books, His messengers, all that has come from Allah, and all that trustworthy transmitters have narrated from the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. We reject none of this. We affirm that Allah, Almighty and Majestic, is unique, One, the Eternal Refuge; there is no deity but Him, and He has taken neither consort nor child; that Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—is His servant and Messenger; that Paradise is real and Hell is real; that the Hour is coming, of which there is no doubt; and that Allah will resurrect those