entails spatial confinement, change, and coming into being. This is the view of the speculative theologians.”

He said: “The earliest predecessors—may Allah be pleased with them—did not deny direction or speak in such terms. Rather, they and the community at large affirmed it for Allah Most High, as His Book declares and His messengers have conveyed. None of the righteous predecessors denied that He truly rose over His Throne. He singled out the Throne in this regard because it is the greatest of His creations. What they did not know was only the manner of His rising, for its reality is unknown. As Mālik—may Allah have mercy on him—said: ‘The rising is known’—meaning in the language—‘but how is unknown, and asking about this is an innovation.’ Umm Salamah said likewise—may Allah be pleased