they had established proof that He is not a body. How much more so, then, when they have offered no proof of this and have contradicted themselves!

This makes it clear to you that whoever departs from the Quran and Sunnah possesses no knowledge, whether rational or transmitted, especially concerning this supreme object of inquiry. Yet they may hold sound beliefs that they have come to know through their innate rational disposition and what they have heard of the Quran and the religion of the Muslims. Their hearts thus affirm what they affirm and deny what they deny on the basis of this innate disposition, perfected by the revealed Law. Nevertheless, they have followed these innovated methods, which contain no knowledge whatsoever. What can be gained from their discourse, however, is that some of them refute the position of another proponent of falsehood and expose his inconsistency.

Thus, when they discussed false doctrines concerning the Lord, they proceeded to refute them on the grounds that they ascribed corporeality to Him, as al-Qādī Abū Bakr did in Hidāyat al-mustarshidīn (Guidance for Those Seeking Right Direction), and as others did. They thereby failed to establish an argument against those proponents of falsehood. They also rejected much of what the Jews say on the grounds that it ascribed corporeality to Him. Yet the Jews were present with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in Medina, and they would sometimes mention certain attributes to him, as in the hadith of the rabbi. Allah censured the Jews for such statements as “Allah is poor” and “His hand is shackled,” among other things. Yet the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, never said that they ascribed corporeality to Allah, or that the Torah contained such an ascription. He neither reproached them for this nor refuted these false statements on the grounds that they ascribed corporeality to Him, as some of those who deny the divine attributes have done.