Al-Dhahabi records it in al-Uluwa, p. 65, and comments: “As for the report from Umm Salama, it is not authentic, since Abu Kinanah is not reliable and Abu Umair is unknown to me. See the biography of Abu Kinanah in al-Mizan, vol. 3, p. 485.” I say: Some innovators cling to what is narrated from Umm Salama, and to the forthcoming reports from Rabi‘ah and Imam Malik, to support their claim that the creed of the Salaf is tafwid (consignment). They argue that there is no significance in these expressions and the like reported from the Salaf except that they represent tafwid in the attribute of istiwa’ (establishment) and other divine attributes. By tafwid, they mean that we affirm the wording of the texts and refrain from seeking the meaning, since—so they claim—it is beyond our comprehension. Among those who held this view is al-Suyuti, who states: “The majority of Ahl al-Sunnah consists of the Salaf and the scholars of hadith regarding belief in the divine attributes. Tafwid means consigning the intended meaning of such expressions to Allah Almighty, without interpreting them, while affirming His transcendence over their actual reality.” He ascribes the same opinion to al-Razi. See al-Itqan fi ‘Ulum al-Quran, vol. 2, p. 6. Al-Zurqani likewise attributes tafwid to the Salaf in his Manaahil al-‘Irfan, where he writes: “The doctrine of the Salaf—also called the doctrine of tafwid—is the consigning of the meanings of these mutashabihat (ambiguous verses) to Allah alone, after affirming His transcendence over their impossible apparent aspects.” See Manaahil al-‘Irfan, vol. 2, pp. 182–183. But this claim is unfounded. The expressions transmitted from the Salaf regarding the affirmation of the reported attributes in general—and the attribute of istiwa’ in particular—point to a genuine affirmation of those attributes according to the sense conveyed by the affirming texts, while categorically rejecting any likeness between the Creator and the created. This is the correct doctrine of the Salaf; any other interpretation is merely a misrepresentation of their words, imposed to lend support to innovators’ heresies with something more flimsy than a spider’s web. Imam Ibn Taymiyya clarifies the falsity of this claim, stating: “This statement, taken generally, is a flat-out lie upon the Salaf. As for many attributes, such as Allah’s being above the Throne, whoever reflects on the transmitted reports of the Salaf… knows by necessity that they explicitly affirmed that Allah is above the Throne in reality and never intended otherwise. Many of them explicitly made similar affirmations regarding other attributes… I have not seen any of them who denied these attributes; rather, they reject tashbih (anthropomorphism) and reproach those who liken Allah to His creation, while also condemning those who deny the attributes.” See al-Hamawiyya al-Kubrá in Majmu‘ al-Rasa’il al-Kubrá, vol. 1, pp. 470–471.