—the philosophers who deny the divine attributes. This is an obvious distortion, for ‘Alī’s words, “Would you like Allah and His Messenger to be disbelieved?” indicate that this concerns something the Prophet—Allah bless him and grant him peace—conveyed. Yet no Muslim has transmitted anything from the Prophet—Allah bless him and grant him peace—in support of the views of those who deny the attributes among the philosophers, Jahmiyyah, Qarāmitah, and Mu‘tazilah, through either an authentic or a weak chain. How, then, could Allah and His Messenger be disbelieved concerning something that no one has transmitted from Allah and His Messenger? By contrast, those who affirm the attributes have transmitted numerous, well-known hadiths describing the Lord’s attributes, His angels, His Paradise, and His Fire. These may be beyond some people’s understanding, so relating them may give rise to the fear that Allah and His Messenger will be disbelieved.

Of the same kind are the words of ‘Abd Allāh ibn Mas‘ūd:

“No man relates to people something beyond their understanding without its becoming a trial for some of them.”

In his statements, whether relating something or giving instructions, Ibn Mas‘ūd was among the most emphatic in affirming the attributes and among the most prolific transmitters of the hadiths concerning them. His students were among the most eminent of the Successors and the most emphatic in this regard. The same applies to the students of Ibn ‘Abbās. The more knowledgeable a Companion was, the more emphatically he and his students affirmed the attributes.

It is thus clear that the Companions did not inwardly conceal the opposite of what they outwardly professed. They did not outwardly affirm the attributes while inwardly denying them, nor outwardly affirm a command while inwardly holding its fulfilment to be impossible. Rather, they were the most steadfast in believing what the Messenger conveyed and obeying what he commanded. This is a broad subject, encompassing matters for which there is not enough space here