in contact with it or distinct from it?’ He could give no adequate answer, so he said, ‘Without specifying how.’ With this expression he deceived the ignorant and misled them.”

Likewise, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Makkī, a companion of al-Shāfiʿī and author of the well-known al-Haydah (The Evasion), said in his Refutation of the Heretics and the Jahmiyyah:

“Chapter on the Jahmiyyah’s interpretation of Allah Most High’s words:

‘The Most Merciful rose over the Throne.’

The Jahmiyyah claimed that Allah’s words, ‘The Most Merciful rose over the Throne,’ mean only that He took control of it, as the Arabs say, ‘So-and-so rose over Egypt,’ or ‘He rose over Syria,’ meaning that he took control of it.

Chapter explaining this:

He is to be asked, ‘Was there ever any created being over which Allah did not have control for a time?’

If he says, ‘No,’ he is to be asked, ‘What, then, of someone who claims that?’

He will say, ‘Whoever claims that is a disbeliever.’

He is to be told, ‘Your position requires you to say that there was a period during which Allah did not have control over the Throne. For Allah has stated that He created the Throne before creating the heavens and the earth in six days, and that He then rose over His Throne after creating the heavens and the earth. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said:

‘He who created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in six days, then rose over the Throne—the Most Merciful; so ask about Him one well informed.’

And His words: ‘Those who bear the Throne and those around it glorify