by the verses concerning the divine attributes. Yet they differed from them in rejecting that likeness through reinterpretation—an approach that is likewise false, since it entails denying the divine attributes. Those who liken Allah to His creation did not fall into this falsehood, but persisted in that likening. The truth lies in accepting what is correct in both positions and rejecting what is false in both: affirming the divine attributes while declaring Allah free of any likeness to His creation, as Allah Most High says:

“There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.” [al-Shūrā: 11]

I say the same concerning the hadiths about the descent of Jesus, peace be upon him, and other hadiths. Our duty is to believe in them and reject what some mistakenly imagine them to imply: abandoning the action and preparation required at all times and in all places. In this way, we will have accepted what is correct in both positions and rejected what is false in both. And Allah is the One whose help is sought.