al-Nisā: 59–61],

and His words:

“Whenever guidance comes to you from Me, whoever follows My guidance will neither go astray nor suffer. But whoever turns away from My remembrance will have a life of hardship, and We shall raise him blind on the Day of Resurrection. He will say, ‘My Lord, why have You raised me blind when I once had sight?’ He will say, ‘Thus did Our signs come to you, but you forgot them; and thus today you will be forgotten.’”

[Surah Tā Hā: 123–126].

Ibn Abbās, may Allah be pleased with them both, said: Allah has guaranteed that whoever recites the Quran and acts upon what it contains will neither go astray in this world nor suffer in the Hereafter. He then recited this verse. There are many similar passages in the Quran and the Sunnah, and this is a matter upon which the early generations and leading scholars of the Muslim community agreed.

[The Rule That Must Be Followed Regarding the Divine Attributes]

What is required in this matter is to consider what Allah and His Messenger have affirmed and affirm it, and what Allah and His Messenger have negated and negate it. The wording used in the revealed texts must be held fast to in both affirmation and negation. We therefore affirm the wording and meanings affirmed by the revealed texts, and we negate the wording and meanings that the revealed texts negate(1).

As for the terms introduced and disputed by later thinkers—such as “body,” “substance”(2), “spatially located,” “direction,” and the like—they must be neither affirmed nor denied until the speaker’s intended meaning has been examined. If, through his affirmation or denial, he intends a sound meaning consistent with what the Messenger reported, the meaning he intended through his wording must be deemed correct. It should, however, be expressed in the wording of the revealed texts. One should not turn(3) to these newly introduced, ambiguous terms except when necessary and with contextual indications that clarify what is meant by them. Such necessity may arise, for example, when addressing someone with whom the objective cannot be achieved unless he is addressed in those terms. If, however, a false meaning is intended(4) by them, that meaning must be rejected,