And the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said in widely transmitted hadiths: “You will see your Lord just as you see the sun and the moon.”

His statement, “No ‘behind’ encompasses Him, and no ‘in front’ bounds Him,” is ambiguous. In numerous passages, the Book, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the early generations of the Muslim community describe created beings as being in front of Allah and before Him. It is therefore impermissible to deny this of Him.

As for his statement, “No ‘before’ brought Him forth, and no ‘after’ caused Him to perish,” its apparent meaning is correct. Its apparent meaning is that He did not come forth through a ‘before’ that preceded Him, nor will He perish such that something would remain after Him. This is true. For He, glorified be He, is as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “You are the First, and there is nothing before You; You are the Last, and there is nothing after You.”

As for his statement, “No ‘whole’ encompassed Him, no ‘was’ brought Him into existence, and no ‘is not’ caused Him to cease to exist,” it contains ambiguity. If he means that one may not say, “Allah was,” this is false.

For in the Sahīh, ‘Imrān ibn Husayn reports from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that the people of Yemen said: “O Messenger of Allah, we have come to you to gain understanding of the religion and to ask you about the beginning of