al-Khuzā‘ī:

“Whoever likens Allah to His creation has disbelieved, and whoever denies what Allah has described Himself with has disbelieved. What Allah has described Himself with, and what His Messenger has described Him with, does not constitute likening Him to His creation.”

The early generations and the imams knew that the disease of denying Allah’s attributes was graver than the disease of likening Him to His creation. As the saying goes:

“The one who denies His attributes is blind, while the one who likens Him to His creation is dim-sighted. The former worships a nonentity; the latter worships an idol.”

Their criticism and condemnation of the Jahmiyyah, who denied Allah’s attributes, were therefore more severe than their criticism and condemnation of those who likened Allah to His creation and equated Him with it, although they condemned both groups. Thereafter, whims and conjectures arose that led some people to object to the subtler points of this fatwa, using specious arguments coupled with desires.

Someone brought me a work by the most distinguished of the opposing judges,