the people of hadith and the followers of the Sunnah as a whole: they affirm belief in Allah, His angels, His Books, His messengers, whatever has come from Allah, and whatever trustworthy transmitters have narrated from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. They reject none of this. Allah Most High is one God, unique, the Eternal Refuge; there is no god besides Him. He has taken neither a consort nor a child. Muhammad is His servant and Messenger; Paradise is real, Hell is real, the Hour is coming without doubt, and Allah will raise those in the graves.

They affirm that Allah is over His Throne, as He said: ‘The Most Merciful rose over the Throne’ {5} [Tā Hā 5]; that He has two hands, without specifying how, as He said: ‘What I created with My two hands’ [Sād 75], and: ‘Rather, both His hands are outstretched’ [al-Mā’idah 64]; that He has two eyes, without specifying how, as He said: ‘Sailing under Our eyes’ [al-Qamar 14]; and that He has a face, as He said: ‘And the face of your Lord, full of majesty and honour, will remain’ {27} [al-Rahmān 27].

They affirm that Allah’s names are not to be described as other than Allah, as the Muʿtazilah and the Khawārij have claimed. They acknowledge that Allah has knowledge, as He said: ‘He sent it down with His knowledge’ [al-Nisā’ 166], and as He said: ‘No female conceives or gives birth