ordinary people do not distinguish between someone saying, ‘I sought it but did not find it anywhere,’ and saying, ‘I sought it, and it proved to be nonexistent.’”

He said: “Ibn Mandah argued for affirming direction on the grounds that the Quran declares that Allah Most High is on the Throne and in heaven, and that the Sunnah likewise states this, and states that Paradise is His dwelling and that He is there. These things are themselves places, which indicates that He is in a place.”

He said: “Once His rising over the Throne is established, it is established that He is on the Throne and in a direction. Is rising over the Throne, then, one of the attributes of His essence? The implication of our companions’ position is that it is one of the attributes of His essence and that He has possessed this attribute from eternity, even though no Throne existed then, since its occurrence on His part is assured in