Section

This argument may be addressed in two ways: first, by rejecting the first premise; and second, by rejecting the second.

The first is the position of those who say that He is above the Throne, yet has neither boundary nor magnitude, nor is He a body. This is maintained by many who affirm the divine attributes, including the Kullābīs, the leading and early Ashʿarīs, and those who agree with them among the jurists, the four groups, and others, as well as hadith scholars, Sufis, and others besides. They are multitudes whose number Allah alone knows. Among them are Abū Hātim Ibn Hibbān and Abū Sulaymān al-Khattābī, both from Bust.

Discussing the divine attributes in al-Risālah al-Nāsihah (The Epistle of Sincere Counsel), Abū Sulaymān al-Khattābī said:

“Among the matters in this subject that must be understood and stated precisely is that, concerning the divine attributes, reliance may be placed only on well-known hadiths whose