As for his oath affirming that “The Most Merciful rose over the Throne” is to be understood according to what its apparent sense conveys and what people understand from it: the expression “apparent sense” has come to carry different meanings. What is apparent to sound human nature, in the Arabic language, in the upright religion, and in the usage of the early generations differs from what is apparent according to the conventions of many later scholars.

If, by “apparent sense,” the oath-taker means anything peculiar to created beings or anything implying some imperfection—for example, imagining that Allah’s rising over the Throne resembles the settling of bodies upon other bodies, or the settling of spirits, if he does not consider spirits to fall within the category of bodies—then he has broken his oath and spoken falsely. I know of no one who says this, apart from what is reported from such figures as Dāwūd al-Jawāribī al-Basrī, Muqātil ibn Sulaymān al-Khurāsānī, Hishām ibn al-Hakam the Rāfidī, and others like them—if these reports about them are authentic.

For it must be held with certainty that nothing is like Allah, whether in His essence, His attributes, or His actions. His distinction from created beings and His transcendence above any likeness to them are greater and more profound than those among His creation who know Him can comprehend or those who describe Him can express. He must be declared free of every attribute that entails having come into existence or any other imperfection.

Anyone who claims that any follower of Ahl al-Sunnah likened His attributes to those of His creation is either lying or mistaken.

If, however, by “apparent sense,” the oath-taker means what was apparent to the innate nature of Muslims before deviant inclinations emerged and opinions became fragmented—namely, the apparent meaning that befits His majesty, glorified and exalted is He