and the other four were the leading imams of the world in the generation following the Successors. Hammād ibn Zayd, Hammād ibn Salamah, and others like them belonged to that same generation.

Abū al-Qāsim al-Azajī narrated through his chain of transmission from Mutarrif ibn ‘Abd Allāh, who said:

“I heard Mālik ibn Anas, whenever someone who rejected the hadiths concerning the divine attributes was mentioned in his presence, say that ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz said:

‘The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and those who held authority after him established practices. Adhering to them affirms the Book of Allah, completes obedience to Allah, and strengthens adherence to Allah’s religion. None of Allah Most High’s creation has the right to change them or to consider anything contrary to them. Whoever seeks guidance through them is rightly guided; whoever seeks support through them is granted support. Whoever opposes them and follows a path other than that of the believers, Allah will leave him to what he has chosen and cause him to burn in Hell—an evil destination.’”

Al-Khallāl narrated through a chain whose transmitters were all trustworthy imams, from Sufyān ibn ‘Uyaynah, who said:

“Rabī‘ah ibn Abī ‘Abd al-Rahmān was asked about His words, ‘The Most Merciful rose over the Throne’: ‘How did He rise over it?’

“He replied: ‘Rising over the Throne is not unknown, and its manner cannot be comprehended. The message comes from Allah; the Messenger’s duty is to convey it clearly, and ours is to affirm its truth.’”

This statement is also narrated through several routes from Mālik ibn Anas, the student of Rabī‘ah ibn Abī ‘Abd al-Rahmān.

(Among these is the report narrated by Abū al-Shaykh al-Asbahānī and Abū Bakr al-Bayhaqī from Yahyā ibn Yahyā, who said:

“We were with Mālik ibn Anas when a man came and said, ‘O Abū ‘Abd Allāh: