on earth’; his saying, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ‘The believer’s heart is between two of the fingers of the Most Merciful’; and his saying, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ‘I sense the breath of the Most Merciful from the direction of Yemen.’ Those who adhered to literal meanings also favoured closing the door to figurative interpretation.”

He said: “We may presume that Ahmad ibn Hanbal knew that rising over the Throne does not mean settling upon it, and that descending does not mean moving from one place to another. Nevertheless, he prohibited figurative interpretation to close this door and safeguard people’s welfare. For once the door is opened, the breach widens, interpretation escapes all restraint, and moderation is exceeded, since the bounds of moderation cannot be precisely defined. The practice of the early generations supports this, for they used to say, ‘Let them pass as they have come.’ Indeed, when Mālik was asked about