and the Sunnah, they say:

“The texts affirming hearing, sight, and speech are far stronger than the verses establishing the authority of consensus. It is therefore more appropriate and fitting to establish these attributes directly through transmitted evidence, namely the Quran.”

Their basis for denying attributes—denying that He falls under the designation of occupying space and the like—is not only a religious innovation unsupported by the Book, the Sunnah, or any report from the Companions and Successors; it is also rationally inconsistent and untenable. For whenever someone denies something for fear that it would entail that the one possessing it is a body, the same objection can be raised against what he affirms, and the same answer he gives concerning what he affirms can be given concerning what he denies.

For example, the Muʿtazilah affirmed that He is Living, All-Knowing, and All-Powerful, yet said:

“He is not described as possessing life, knowledge, power, or attributes, because these are accidents, which can be attributed only to a body. No subject possessing attributes can be conceived except a body.”

They were answered:

“Yet you have described Him as Living, All-Knowing, and All-Powerful. Nothing can be described as knowing, living, and powerful unless it is a body, and nothing possessing these attributes can be conceived except a body. Whatever answer you give concerning the names is our answer concerning the attributes. If it is permissible to say, ‘Rather, these names may designate one who is not a body,’ then it is likewise permissible to say, ‘These attributes may describe one who is not a body,’ and to say, ‘These attributes are not accidents.’

“If it is said that the term ‘body’ is ambiguous or has several distinct meanings, and that the One designated by these names need not be like anything else or possess the distinctive characteristics of anything else, then it is permissible to say: ‘The One described by these attributes need not be like anything else or possess the distinctive characteristics of anything else.’”