made it an answer to the questioner’s inquiry and revealed it when it was needed. That is, when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked about the essence of his Lord, His description and His attributes, he awaited an answer from Allah Most High, whereupon Allah Most High revealed this surah. He said: “This requires that it be among the unambiguous passages, not the ambiguous ones. Once this is established, one must be certain that every doctrine contrary to this surah is false.”

Yet in the second section, which he devoted to the figurative interpretation of ambiguous passages in Quranic verses and transmitted reports, he included it among the ambiguous passages he interpreted figuratively. This implies that it cannot be cited as evidence concerning the attributes of Allah Most High, since ambiguous passages cannot be used as evidence. Rather, in his view, one must either interpret them figuratively or