But I say:

‘Allah is One,
Allah, the Eternal Refuge.
He neither begets nor is born,
and there is none comparable to Him.’”

He means: “I do not know what you mean by the term ‘body.’ If we do not know the meaning intended by the speaker, I will not agree with you in affirming or denying a term that neither the Book nor the Sunnah affirms or denies. If, in his denial or affirmation, he intends something consistent with the Book and the Sunnah, we agree with him. But if he intends something contrary to the Book and the Sunnah, we do not agree with him.”

The terms “body,” “substance,” and the like have not been used with reference to Allah Most High, either affirmatively or negatively, in the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger, or the statements of anyone among the Companions, those who follow them in righteousness until the Day of Judgment, or the other imams of the Muslims. Thus Ahmad said in his letter to al-Mutawakkil:

“I do not like discussing any of these matters except what is found in the Book of Allah, or in a report from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, or from the Companions or those who follow them in righteousness. As for anything else, discussing it is not praiseworthy.”

He also mentioned, in his account of the Jahmiyyah, that they say: “There is no such-and-such in Him, nor such-and-such, nor such-and-such.” It is as he said, for the term “body” has a meaning in the language in which the Quran was revealed, as Allah Most High says:

“When you see them, their bodies impress you