who said: Muhammad ibn al-‘Abbas al-Mukhlis narrated to us; Abu Bakr ibn Abi Dawud informed us; al-Rabiʿ ibn Sulayman reported: “I asked al-Shafiʿi—may Allah have mercy on him—about certain of the attributes of Allah, the Exalted. He replied: ‘It is forbidden for intellects to liken Allah, Exalted is He; for imaginations to delimit Him; for conjectures to pronounce decisively about Him; for souls to ponder His Essence; for inner consciences to delve deeply; for passing thoughts to encompass Him; and for minds to grasp anything of Him except what He has described of Himself in His Book or upon the tongue of His Prophet ﷺ.’”

35 – Yunus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿla said: “I heard Abu ʿAbd Allah Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafiʿi say—after he had been asked about the attributes of Allah, Exalted is He, and what one must believe concerning them: ‘Allah, Exalted is He, possesses names and attributes that have come in His Book and about which His Prophet ﷺ has informed us. It is not permissible for anyone among Allah’s creation, once the proof has been established against him, to reject them; the Quran was revealed containing them, and it is authentically reported from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that he affirmed them. Whoever, after the evidence has reached him, opposes this is a disbeliever in Allah, Exalted is He. As for the one to whom the proof, by way of transmitted report, has not yet reached, he is excused on account of ignorance—because knowledge of this matter cannot be attained by reason, by sight, or by reflection.’”

36 – Ibn Waddah said: “Every adherent of the Sunnah I have ever met affirms them on account of the hadith of the Divine Descent.” Ibn Maʿin said: “Affirm it, but do not describe it,” and he added, “Accept it, and do not attempt to delimit it.”