claim that the world has a Maker who has always existed and is neither knowing, powerful, living, hearing, seeing, nor eternal. They described Him by saying, ‘We speak of an entity that has always existed,’ and added nothing further.”

He said: “However, those Muʿtazila whose views concerning the attributes we have described could not openly proclaim what the philosophers proclaimed in this regard. They therefore expressed the same meaning by denying that the Creator has knowledge, power, life, hearing, or sight. Were it not for fear, they would openly proclaim what the philosophers proclaimed and state it explicitly. But fear of the sword prevents them from doing so.”

He said: “A man known as Ibn al-Iyādī, who professed their doctrine, did state this explicitly. He claimed that the Creator Most High is knowing, powerful, hearing, and seeing in a figurative sense, not a literal one.”