They did not flee from it, and so they fell into the snares of the traps they themselves had set, contenting themselves with spoils marked by contradiction and confusion. Imam Ibn al-Qayyim clarifies this matter, saying: “... The allegorizers (mut’awwilūn) gained nothing from their allegorical interpretations except the nullification of the texts, their manipulation, and the violation of their sanctity. They did not rid themselves of what they feared; rather, that very fear became inseparable from what they fled to—just as it was inseparable from what they fled from. Indeed, they may fall into an even greater danger, as happened with those who allegorized the texts concerning elevation (’ulūw), transcendence (fawqīyah), and istiwā’ (establishment above) in order to escape anthropomorphism and limitation. They then asserted that God is everywhere in His essence, thereby glorifying Him by denying His establishment on His Throne and His distinction from His creation. They even placed Him in the cavities of houses, wells, vessels, and places whose mention they preferred to avoid. These were the ancient Jahmites. When their later followers realized the falsity of that position, they declared that nothing exists beyond the world or above the Throne except sheer nonexistence; that there is no Lord to worship, no deity to whom one prays or prostrates, nor is God in the world either. Thus they equated His relation to the Throne with His relation to the lowest place. Glory be to God—this is a most exalted form of elevation above all sense. See: Al-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqah (The Scorching Thunderbolts), vol. 1, p. 121. This is the inevitable outcome of deviation and error, as God Almighty says: “So when they deviated, Allah caused their hearts to deviate.” (Quran 61:5). O Allah, Controller of hearts and sights, keep our hearts steadfast upon Your religion.