Another approach here is to say: Allah has the power to enable us to perceive anything that exists through one of the five senses. Whatever cannot possibly be perceived through any of the five senses is nonexistent. By this line of reasoning, the imams explained that Jahm was saying that Allah is nonexistent when he claimed that Allah cannot be perceived through any of the senses, since whatever exists must be capable of being perceived through one of them. Thus, Imam Ahmad recounted the origins of Jahm’s followers, saying:

“Likewise, Jahm and his followers called people to the ambiguous passages of the Quran and hadith, and misled many people with their discourse. Among the reports that reached us about Jahm, the enemy of Allah, was that he was given to disputation and theological speculation, and most of his discourse concerned Allah. He met some polytheists known as the Sumaniyyah. They recognized Jahm and said, ‘We will debate with you. If our argument prevails