the objectionable consequence he seeks to avoid. Thus, figurative interpretation is neither necessary nor beneficial, although in establishing this he followed the principle he applies in analogous cases. Elsewhere we have explained his principle and those of al-Ash'arī, al-Qalānisī, and others, and shown that the two, despite opposing the Mu'tazilites, did not agree with the early generations and the imams. Rather, they followed an approach of their own and exposed contradictions in the Mu'tazilites’ position that reveal its unsoundness.

Abū al-Hasan al-Ash'arī likewise said this, as reported from his followers, such as Judge Abū Bakr ibn al-'Arabī and others, for he