Among the most conspicuous forms of excess is what some zealous students of creed do when they encounter Qur’anic verses or authentic ḥadiths that speak of the Lord’s attributes. They begin probing and mining them for details, posing questions for which they were given no mandate—questions never entertained by the earliest generations: the Companions, the Followers, and the Imams of guidance who came after them. One of them will dig for matters that he has not been charged with, out of sheer obstinacy and self-imposed hardship. To such people we say: if what sufficed the Companions suffices you, then hold your tongue. If it does not, then may Allah not grant you ease, for you will surely find yourselves in difficulty, distress, and anxiety.

An illustration: someone says, “Allah has fingers,” citing the rigorously authentic ḥadith, “The hearts of all the children of Adam lie between two fingers of the Most Merciful, as though they were a single heart; He turns them whichever way He wills.” Immediately, the hair-splitting extremist asks, “Exactly how many fingers? Do they have joints? If so, how many?” and similar pointless inquiries.

Or take the narration, “Our Lord descends to the lowest heaven every night when the last third of the night remains.” He retorts, “How does He descend? How can He descend during the last third of the night when that period keeps moving across the globe? Does this not mean that He is perpetually descending?”—and so on. None of these questions bring reward or praise; in fact, they are closer to sin