Then the shaykh addressed the gathering, praising and extolling Allah with the sermon transmitted by Ibn Masʿūd, may Allah be pleased with him. He then said:

“Allah Most High has commanded us to remain united and harmonious, and has forbidden division and discord. Our Lord is one, our Messenger is one, our Book is one, and our religion is one. The early generations and the imams of Islam do not disagree over the fundamentals of religion, nor is division over them permissible, for Allah Most High says:

‘And hold firmly to the rope of Allah, all together, and do not become divided.’

“And He says:

‘Indeed, those who have divided their religion and become sects—you have nothing to do with them.’

“People have disputed this subject. One says, ‘I am a Hanbalī,’ and another says, ‘I am an Ashʿarī.’ I have brought the books of al-Ashʿarī and those of his foremost followers, such as the books of Abū Bakr ibn al-Bāqillānī. I have also brought accounts of the beliefs of the early scholars among the Mālikīs, Shāfiʿīs, Hanbalīs, hadith scholars, and Sufi shaykhs, showing that they all agree upon a single creed.”

He likewise brought accounts from the leading followers of Abū Hanīfah, such as Muhammad ibn al-Hasan and al-Tahāwī, including their statements concerning the divine attributes and other fundamentals of religion. He read a section of what the hadith scholar Ibn ʿAsākir had mentioned in his book, “al-Ibānah” (The Elucidation), and the statement that he upheld Imam Ahmad’s position.

He brought “Kitāb al-Tamhīd” (The Book of the Introduction) by Judge Abū Bakr ibn al-Bāqillānī. He also brought “transmitted accounts” from Mālik and his foremost followers, such as Ibn Abī Zayd, Judge ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, and other leading followers of Mālik, explicitly stating that Allah, in His very essence, is established over the Throne.

He said, “What I set forth is the doctrine of the early generations.” He brought their own statements and those of people who