Shaykh Abū al-Hasan al-Ashʿarī. What al-Ashʿarī stated in his book al-Maqālāt is what Abū Bakr ibn Fūrak recorded in his book Maqālāt Ibn Kullāb (The Doctrinal Views of Ibn Kullāb). He wrote: “Chapter One: An account of what our shaykh Abū al-Hasan related in al-Maqālāt concerning the principal doctrines and foundational principles of the adherents of hadith, and his clarification at its conclusion that he himself affirms all of this, and that Abū Muhammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Saʿīd affirms this and more besides.”

Qādī Abū Bakr al-Bāqillānī likewise stated this throughout his books, including al-Tamhīd (The Introduction), al-Ibānah (The Elucidation), and the book he entitled A Refutation of Those Who Attribute to al-Ashʿarī Views Contrary to His Own. After several sections, he said: “Such is also our position concerning everything narrated from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, regarding the attributes of Allah Most High, provided that the report is reliably established—including the affirmation of the two hands spoken of in