the body and life, or that it varies from body to body and is equal to all other bodies in definition and reality, as certain groups of speculative theologians maintain. Rather, we know with certainty that the soul is a real entity distinct from the body and does not resemble it. It truly possesses the attributes stated in the revealed texts, not merely metaphorically. If our position concerning the reality of the “soul” and its attributes lies between denying its attributes and likening it to the body, what, then, should our position be concerning the attributes of the Lord of all worlds?

As for the two groups who deny their apparent meaning, I mean those who say that these expressions do not, in reality, signify any attribute of Allah Most High whatsoever, and that Allah has no affirmative attributes: His attributes are only negative, relational, or a combination of the two. Others affirm some attributes—the seven, eight, or fifteen attributes—or affirm states rather than attributes. Of the attributes known through revelation, they acknowledge those mentioned in the Quran but not those mentioned in hadith, in accordance with the known positions of the speculative theologians.

These people fall into two groups. One group reinterprets these expressions and specifies their intended meaning. For example, they say that istawā (“rose over”) means istawlā (“took control”), or refers to exalted status and rank, the manifestation of His light to the Throne, or creation reaching its endpoint there, among the other meanings proposed by the speculative theologians.

The other group says: “Allah knows best what He intended by them. But we know that He did not intend to affirm an attribute beyond those we already know.”

As for the two groups who suspend judgment: