the position you hold and the religion you profess.’ The reply is: ‘The position we hold and the religion we profess is adherence to the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and what has been transmitted from the Companions, the Successors, and the imams of hadith. To these we hold fast. We affirm what Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal—may Allah make his face radiant—affirmed, and oppose those who opposed his position. For he is the eminent imam and consummate leader through whom Allah made the truth manifest when error emerged, clarified the path, and suppressed the innovations of the innovators, the deviations of the deviant, and the doubts of the doubters. May Allah have mercy upon him—a foremost imam and a great teacher—and upon all the imams of the Muslims.’”

He quoted the creed in full, as we have previously quoted it from him, when relating what al-Ash‘arī stated in al-Ibāna. Then, after completing his account, Ibn ‘Asākir said:

“Reflect, then—may Allah have mercy upon you—on this creed: how clear and explicit it is! Acknowledge the merit of this imam who explained and elucidated it.”

The hadith master Ibn ‘Asākir said: “Abū al-Hasan said in his book entitled al-‘Umad fī al-Ru’ya: ‘We have written a substantial book on the divine attributes, discussing