and negation of Allah and His attributes, and would prohibit the use of their flawed terminology because they understood its intended meaning, even if the ignorant and those who mislead others did not. An example is what Imam Ahmad mentioned in his work refuting the Jahmiyyah, which we cited earlier. Describing Jahm’s position, he said:

“And he found three verses of ambiguous meaning in the Quran: His words, ‘There is nothing like Him’ [al-Shūrā 11], ‘He is Allah in the heavens and on earth’ [al-An‘ām 3], and ‘No vision can encompass Him.’ He founded his discourse on these verses, interpreted the Quran contrary to its true meaning, and rejected the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He claimed that anyone who described Allah with any attribute with which He described Himself in His Book, or which His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) related concerning Him, was a disbeliever and one of those who liken Allah to His creation