As for the early generations and the imams of the Sunnah and hadith, they affirm that He possesses these attributes, as declared in the Book and the Sunnah. This is also the position of many—or most—speculative theologians and philosophers, whose statements we have quoted verbatim elsewhere.
Speech is one such example. The early generations and the imams of the Sunnah and hadith maintain that He speaks by His will and power, and that His speech is not created; rather, it is an attribute of His that subsists in His Essence.
Among those who have identified this as the position of the imams of the Sunnah are Abū ‘Abd Allāh ibn Mandah, Abū ‘Abd Allāh ibn Hāmid, Abū Bakr ‘Abd al-‘Azīz, Abū Ismā‘īl al-Ansārī, and others. Likewise, Abū ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-Barr stated something similar concerning His rising above.
The imams of the Sunnah—such as ‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Bukhārī, ‘Uthmān ibn Sa‘īd al-Dārimī, and countless other imams—and all other adherents of the Sunnah and hadith agree that He speaks by His will and that He has always spoken whenever He wills and however He wills. Harb ibn Ismā‘īl al-Kirmānī also reported this from Sa‘īd ibn Mansūr, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and Ishāq ibn Ibrāhīm.
Allah has called the Noble Quran “discourse,” saying:
“Allah has sent down the best discourse.”
And He says:
“And who is more truthful than Allah in speech?”
And He says:
“No new reminder comes to them from their Lord…”
The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“Indeed, Allah introduces into His commands whatever He wills.”
This is among the evidence al-Bukhārī cited in his Sahīh and elsewhere. Others besides al-Bukhārī also cited it as evidence, including Nu‘aym ibn Hammād and Hammād ibn Zayd.