But the harm caused by this affair will fall upon you. I know that those in Syria who pursued it intended to plot against you and undermine your religion and your state. Some of them have gone to the lands of the Tatars, and some reside there. They are the ones who sought to ruin your religious and worldly affairs and portrayed me as a covert leader, knowing that I am loyal to you, sincerely counsel you, and desire good for you in this world and the Hereafter. This affair has secrets that are gradually coming to light. Otherwise, there has never been any enmity or hatred between me and anyone in Egypt. I have always loved them and remained loyal to them—their emirs, their shaykhs, and their judges.

He said to me: “What, then, should I tell the sultan’s deputy?”

I replied: “Convey my greetings to him and tell him everything you have heard.”

He said: “That is a great deal.”

I replied: “In brief, most of what is in this scroll is false. As for the expression ‘He rose in a real sense,’ several scholars from the various schools—the Mālikīs and others—have stated that Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah agreed upon it unanimously. None of the early generations of this community or its leading scholars rejected it. Indeed, I know of no scholar who rejected it. How, then, could I abandon what Ahl al-Sunnah unanimously affirmed and no scholar rejected?”

By this I was referring to several statements, including that of Imam Abū ʿUmar al-Talamankī, one of the leading Mālikī scholars before al-Bājī, Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, and their generation. He said:

“The Muslims of Ahl al-Sunnah unanimously agreed that the meaning of ‘And He is with you wherever you are,’ and similar passages in the Quran, is that this refers to His knowledge, and that Allah is above the heavens in His Essence, having risen over His Throne however He willed.”

And he said: