may Allah bless him and grant him peace, such as:

‘Allah descends to the lowest heaven and says: “Is there anyone seeking forgiveness, that I may forgive him?”’

as related in the hadith. They affirm that Allah will come on the Day of Resurrection, as He said:

‘And your Lord comes, and the angels, rank upon rank.’

“And that Allah draws near to His creation however He wills, as He said:

‘We are nearer to him than his jugular vein.’”

He mentioned many other things before saying: “This, then, is a summary of what they enjoin, practise, and believe. We affirm all that we have mentioned of their teachings, and this is the position we adopt.”

Al-Ash‘arī also said, on the question of rising over the Throne:

“The people of the Sunnah and the scholars of hadith said: ‘He is not a body and does not resemble things, and He is upon His Throne, as He said:

“The Most Merciful rose over the Throne.”

‘We do not presume to speak ahead of Allah and His Messenger. Rather, we say that He rose over the Throne, without specifying how, and that He has two Hands, without specifying how, as He, the Exalted, said:

“What I created with My two Hands.”

‘And that Allah descends to the lowest heaven, as related in the hadith.’”

He said: “The Mu‘tazilah said that His rising over His Throne means that He gained dominion over it.”

Al-Ash‘arī also said in his book al-Ibānah fī Usūl al-Diyānah (The Elucidation of the Foundations of Religion), in the chapter on rising over the Throne:

“If someone asks, ‘What do you say about rising over the Throne?’ the answer is: We say to him that Allah is established over His Throne, as He said:

‘The Most Merciful rose over the Throne.’

“And He said:

‘To Him ascends good speech.’

“And He said:

‘Rather, Allah raised him to Himself.’

“And He said, recounting Pharaoh’s words:

‘O Hāmān, build me a lofty tower, so that I may reach the pathways—the pathways of the heavens—and look upon the God of Moses, though I certainly think he is a liar.’

“Pharaoh accused Moses of lying in his statement: