It is also reported from Mālik that he explicitly prescribed calling those who promoted “Jahm’s doctrine” to repentance, and forbade praying behind them.

Among his followers was the renowned imam Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn Abī Zamanīn. In the book he composed on “The Foundations of the Sunnah,” he wrote:

Chapter on Belief in the Throne

He said: “Among the teachings of Ahl al-Sunnah is that Allah created the Throne and distinguished it by its elevation high above everything He created. He then rose over it as He willed, as He stated concerning Himself:

‘The Most Merciful rose over the Throne.’”

He went on to say: “Glory be to Him who is distant and unseen, yet near through His knowledge and power.”

As for Ahmad ibn Hanbal and his followers, their statements on this subject are better known still. Abū al-Hasan ‘Alī ibn Ismā‘īl al-Ash‘arī, the theologian after whom the school is named, followed his lead. He said:

“Section Explaining the Position of the People of Truth and the Sunnah

If someone says: ‘You have rejected the positions of the Mu‘tazilah, the Qadariyyah, the Jahmiyyah, the Harūriyyah, the Rāfidah, and the Murji’ah. Tell us, then, what position you uphold and what religious beliefs you profess,’ he should be told:

‘The position we uphold and the religion by which we worship Allah consist in adhering to the Book of our Lord, the Sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad, and what has been transmitted from the Companions, the Successors, and the leading scholars of hadith. To these we hold fast. We affirm what Abū ‘Abd Allāh Ahmad ibn Hanbal affirmed—may Allah brighten his face, raise his rank, and bestow abundant reward upon him—and oppose whatever contradicts his position, for he is the imam