the correct position lies either with those who affirm Allah’s being above or with those who hold that His being above necessarily entails His being a body. The Karrāmiyyah, who dispute with them and maintain that He is upon the Throne, have not been shown to be mistaken—whether according to the earlier scholars who affirm His being above or according to the later scholars who regard His being above and His being a body as necessarily linked. It is therefore evident that the Karrāmiyyah, who dispute with the Ash'arīs over His being above and His being a body, are closer to the truth than they are. For those shown to be mistaken under every supposition are more deserving of being judged mistaken than those who have not been shown to be mistaken under either supposition on the principal issue at stake, and whose error on the other issue—that of His being a body—is established on only one of the two suppositions.

This is clear and evident. It has been established that error necessarily attaches to either the earlier or the later Ash'arīs, provided that their disagreement is substantive and their positions contradictory, as explained above. As for the Karrāmiyyah, their error concerning His being upon the Throne has not been demonstrated under either supposition. On the question of His being a body, they would be mistaken only according to the earlier scholars, since the later Ash'arīs agree with them that His being above necessarily entails ascribing a body to Him.

Thus, nothing in all these matters over which they have disputed has established that Allah is not upon the Throne. That is because His being upon the Throne is the truth brought by the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Allah—glorified and exalted—is the One who says:

“It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over all religion” [al-Saff 9], to the end of the verse.

The religion of truth with which He sent His Messenger prevails under every supposition.