what he stated concerning that verse. If, however, these things are not bodies, their denial of them with respect to Allah Most High is invalid. Allah, Almighty and Majestic, must therefore be described as possessing hands and the other attributes mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah. These need not be bodies, nor does affirming them amount to ascribing corporeality to Him. If this does not amount to ascribing corporeality to Him, then affirming that He is above is even less deserving of that description. This therefore shows that it does not amount to ascribing corporeality to Him, and thus shows that revelation contradicts what they have claimed.

(The tenth argument):

It may be said: The evidence in the Quran and Sunnah affirming the attributes of perfection and that He Himself is above the Throne is too abundant to enumerate. Examples include His words:

“To Him ascends good speech,”

and His words:

“Rather, Allah raised him to Himself,”

and His words:

“The angels and the Spirit ascend to Him,”

and His words:

“Indeed, those who are with your Lord.”

It has been said that these amount to three hundred verses. They are clear, manifest proofs, readily understood from the Quran and grasped from the words of Allah Most High.

If affirming this necessarily entails that Allah is a body and a physical form, then the implications of these texts cannot be set aside on the basis of what was mentioned in the account of the calf. For that account does not state that merely being a physical form was the deficiency that Allah condemned and made an obstacle to its divinity.

If, however, affirming that He is above and affirming His attributes does not necessarily entail that He is a body and a physical form, then the very foundation of their argument collapses. Their mainstay is the claim that affirming that He is above entails corporeality and embodiment. If they concede that it does not necessarily entail corporeality and embodiment, they would have no evidence for denying it.