and Abū Abd Allāh ibn Hāmid and others openly denounced Abū Bakr ibn al-Tayyib over matters in which he had departed from the Sunnah, so that [discord] spread as a result of some of this. Judge Abū Bakr composed his well-known book, “Uncovering the Secrets of the Esotericists and Tearing Away Their Veils.” These men died within a short time of one another, shortly after 400 AH. Then came al-Qādir’s reading of his creed in the presence of the leading scholars of the legal schools. In it he said:

“Our Lord was alone, with nothing beside Him and no place containing Him. He created everything by His power and created the Throne, not because He needed it. He then established Himself over it, settling as He willed and wished—not settling for rest, as creatures rest. He governs the heavens and the earths, all they contain, and all who are on land and sea. None governs but Him, and none preserves but Him. He provides for them, causes them to fall ill, restores them to health, and causes them to die. All created beings are powerless—the angels, the prophets, the messengers, and all other creatures—and He is