and the Karrāmiyyah—agree that these later Ashʿarīs, who concur with the Muʿtazilah in denying that Allah is above the Throne, are mistaken. This is the principal point of what we have discussed.

Furthermore, this al-Rāzī and those like him, along with others, say that it is self-evident that His being upon the Throne necessarily entails His occupying space or being a body. If that is so, they are acknowledging that the Karrāmiyyah are more correct than their own earlier teachers, and that this is known by necessity. It follows, then, that the Karrāmiyyah’s position is correct, rather than their own position or that of their earlier teachers. This also necessarily entails that Allah is above the Throne.

This demonstrates that the disagreement between the earlier and later Ashʿarīs establishes that one of their two groups is mistaken, but does not establish that the Karrāmiyyah are mistaken in saying that Allah is above the Throne. For if their earlier scholars are correct, then they and the Karrāmiyyah agree that Allah is above the Throne. Even if, on this supposition, the Karrāmiyyah are mistaken in saying that He is a body, this does not undermine the argument. If, however, their later scholars are correct that His being upon the Throne necessarily entails ascribing a body to Him, then the Karrāmiyyah and the earlier Ashʿarīs agree that Allah Most High is above the Throne. Ascribing a body to Him would then be a necessary implication of both groups’ positions, so one could not be correct and the other mistaken.

Once it is established that one of the two Ashʿarī groups is mistaken, we know with certainty, on the basis of their agreement, that