Shaykh al-Islām, the peerless scholar of his age and ocean of knowledge, Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-‘Abbās Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked about two men who had debated “the affirmation of the divine attributes and the categorical affirmation that Allah is above the Throne.”

One of them said:

“No one is required to know this or investigate it; rather, such inquiry is discouraged, as Imam Mālik said to the questioner: ‘I see you as nothing but an evil man.’ All a person must know and believe is that Allah Most High is alone in His sovereignty and is the Lord, Creator, and Sovereign of everything. Indeed, whoever discusses any of this is a corporealist and a Hashwī.”

Is the person who says this right or wrong? If he is wrong, what is the evidence that people must believe in and know the affirmation of the divine attributes and Allah’s being above the Throne—which is the highest of all created things? And what is meant by corporealism and hashw?

Give us your ruling and explain the matter fully, providing a satisfactory explanation that dispels these doubts. May you be rewarded and recompensed, if Allah Most High wills.