the doctrines of sectarians well known within the Muslim community, such as the Kharijites, the Shia, the Qadariyyah, and the Murji’ah. Rather, they regarded denying this as graver than all of those doctrines. Their statements on this are well known and transmitted through numerous independent channels.

For this reason, Abū Bakr ibn Khuzaymah, known as the Imam of Imams, said, as al-Hākim reported from him: “Whoever does not affirm that Allah is above His heavens, upon His Throne, distinct from His creation, must be called upon to repent. If he repents, well and good; otherwise, he is to be beheaded and then cast onto a rubbish heap, so that neither the people of the qiblah nor those under Muslim protection are troubled by his stench.”