the sinful monotheists and will punish whomever He wills. As He, Most High, said:

‘He forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills.’”

The imam renowned for his knowledge of Allah, Ma‘mar ibn Ahmad al-Asbahānī—the leading Sufi in his region around the fourth century AH—said:

“I wished to offer my companions counsel drawn from the Sunnah and an admonition drawn from wisdom, and to bring together the beliefs held by the adherents of hadith and transmitted reports, without specifying how, and by those versed in knowledge of Allah and Sufism, both earlier and later generations.”

In this counsel he said:

“Allah is established over His Throne without specifying how, likening Him to creation, or reinterpreting His establishment. Its meaning is intelligible, but its manner is unknown. He, Almighty and Majestic, is established over His Throne, distinct from His creation, and creation is distinct from Him, without indwelling, mingling, intermixture, or contact. For He is unique, distinct from creation, the One who has no need of creation.

“Allah, Almighty and Majestic, is All-Hearing, All-Seeing, All-Knowing, All-Aware. He speaks, is pleased, is displeased, laughs, marvels, and manifests Himself to His servants on the Day of Resurrection, laughing. Every night He descends to the lowest heaven however He wills:

‘Then He says: “Is there anyone calling upon Me, that I may answer him? Is there anyone seeking forgiveness, that I may forgive him? Is there anyone repenting, that I may accept his repentance?”—until dawn breaks.’

“The Lord’s descent to heaven is affirmed without specifying how, likening Him to creation, or reinterpreting it. Whoever denies the descent or reinterprets it is a misguided innovator. The rest of the elect among those who know Allah hold this belief.” End of quotation.

The shaykh and imam Abū Bakr Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hārūn al-Khallāl said in The Book of the Sunnah:

“Abū Bakr al-Athram narrated to us: Ibrāhīm ibn al-Hārith—that is, al-‘Abbādī—narrated to us: al-Layth narrated to us