in Basra, and he established the religion of the Jahmiyya. When people ask them about Allah’s words, “There is nothing like unto Him,” they say:

“Nothing whatsoever is like Him. He is beneath the seventh earth just as He is upon the Throne. No place is devoid of Him, and He is not in one place to the exclusion of another. He has never spoken and does not speak to anyone. No one sees Him in this world or in the Hereafter. He is neither described nor known by any attribute or act. He has no limit or endpoint and cannot be comprehended by reason. He is wholly face, wholly knowledge, wholly hearing, wholly sight, wholly light, and wholly power. No two things exist within Him, nor is He described by two different attributes. He has no upper or lower part, no extremities or sides, no right or left. He is neither heavy nor light, and has neither colour nor body. He is neither known nor rationally comprehended. Whenever it occurs to you that He is something you know, He is unlike it.”

So we said, “He is a thing.” They replied, “He is