37 – It is reported from al-Hasan al-Basri that he said, “Mutarrif once spoke from this very pulpit with words that had never been uttered before and will never be uttered again.” They asked, “What were they, Abu Saʿid?” He replied, “He said: ‘Praise be to Allah—part of faith in Him is to remain ignorant of anything other than what He has described of Himself.’”

38 – Sahnun said: “Among the signs of knowing Allah is to keep silent about everything beyond what He has attributed to Himself.”

39 – Abu al-Hasan Saʿd Allah ibn Nasr ibn al-Dajjaji the jurist told us; he said: al-Imam, the ascetic, Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Khayyat informed us; he said: Abu Tahir ʿAbd al-Ghaffar ibn Muhammad ibn Jaʿfar informed us; he said: Abu ʿAli ibn al-Sawwaf informed us; he said: Bishr ibn Musa informed us; he said: Abu Bakr ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr al-Humaydi said:

“The foundations of the Sunnah…”—and he listed a number of them—“then he said: Whatever the Quran and the hadith have spoken of, such as His words, ‘The Jews said, “Allah’s hand is tied up.” May their hands be tied up…’ (Q 5:64) and, ‘The heavens will be rolled up in His right hand’ (Q 39:67), and all similar passages in the Quran and the hadith, we neither add to them nor interpret them. We halt where the Quran and the Sunnah have halted, and we affirm: ‘The All-Merciful rose over the Throne.’ Whoever claims otherwise is a Jahmi negator.”