since He governs them both, while He is upon His Throne and above all things. Exalted is He above likenesses and equals.” End quote.

Imam Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muhammad ibn Khafīf said in his book entitled Belief in Divine Oneness through Affirming the Names and Attributes, at the end of his introduction:

“The statements of the Emigrants and the Helpers concerning the oneness of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and knowledge of His names, attributes, and decree were unanimous and constituted a clear religious teaching. They were the ones who transmitted this from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, including his words: ‘You must adhere to my Sunnah.’”

He cited the hadith, as well as the hadith, “Allah curses whoever introduces wrongdoing.” He said:

“The Companions were unanimously agreed, without disagreement—and they are those from whom we have been commanded to learn. Praise be to Allah Most High, they did not disagree concerning the teachings of divine oneness and the fundamentals of religion, including ‘the names and attributes,’ as they disagreed over subsidiary matters. Had they disagreed about these matters, that disagreement would have been transmitted to us, just as their other disagreements were transmitted. Thus, the soundness of this was firmly established among their leading figures and ordinary members alike, until they conveyed it to those who followed them in righteousness. Its soundness was then firmly established among the recognized scholars, who transmitted it generation after generation, for they regarded disagreement concerning the foundation of religion as disbelief. All favour belongs to Allah.

“I further say—and I say this with Allah’s help—that when people began disagreeing concerning the teachings of divine oneness and the discussion of the names and attributes, contrary to the way of the earlier Companions and Successors, people who were not known for knowledge of transmitted traditions plunged into these matters. They did not understand the statements of their predecessors in light of the transmitted reports. Their reliance came to rest on judgments dictated by self-pleasing desires, derived from thinking ill of Him, in opposition to the Sunnah, and on clinging to verses in which they found no support for what pleased their souls, so they interpreted them to suit their desires