this, so they expressed its meaning instead, saying: ‘Allah is knowing, powerful, living, hearing and seeing in name, without our affirming for Him knowledge, power, hearing or sight.’”

Those whose position he mentioned said that He is neither knowing nor powerful, neither living nor hearing nor seeing. These are worse than the heretics mentioned earlier, whose position al-Rāzī related, who say: “We do not say that He is existent or nonexistent, living or dead, knowing or ignorant.” For those others refrained from applying either of two opposing designations, but did not deny that He, Most High, is in Himself characterized by one of them. Those who denied this are therefore worse than the others. He also stated that the Muʿtazilah took their position from these people.

Likewise, in al-Maqālāt (Doctrinal Views), after saying, “This is an account of people’s differing views concerning the names and attributes,” he said:

“Praise be to Allah, who has shown us the error of those who err, the blindness of the blind, and the bewilderment of the bewildered, who denied the attributes of Allah, Lord of the worlds, and said that He—exalted be His praise and hallowed be