It may be said in reply: When you say of the Hanbalis that they affirm composition and combination and describe Him as composed of parts and portions, do you mean that they use this wording, or that they affirm attributes that entail this meaning? If you mean the former, we know of no Hanbali who uses this wording in full. If, however, you have come across one of them who uses it, that is possible; but such people would constitute only a small group among them.

What has reached us in this regard is that the word “part” occurs in the statements of a group of the early generations, from among the Companions and Successors, and is recorded in the books of Sunnah. It is reported from ʿUbayd ibn