However, because this Imāmī began claiming that his sect alone, to the exclusion of all others, was correct regarding tawhīd (affirming Allah’s oneness), it became necessary for us to draw attention to this. We therefore say:
As for [what] he mentioned [of] the term (1) “body” and all that follows from it, neither the Book nor the Sunnah has used this term concerning the attributes of Allah, Exalted is He, whether in negation or affirmation. Nor was it employed by any of the Companions, the Followers, or those who followed them—whether from the Prophet’s Household or otherwise.
The doctrine of denying the divine attributes was, however, introduced as an innovation by the Jahmiyyah toward the end (2) of Umayyad rule. It is said that the first to introduce this innovation was al-Jaʿd ibn Dirham, the tutor of Marwān ibn Muhammad, the last Umayyad caliph. Al-Jaʿd was from Harran (3), which was home to leading Sabians and philosophers. Al-Fārābī had studied philosophy under Mattā and then went to Harran, where he continued his studies under the Sabians living there. They worshipped the celestial bodies and erected (4) temples dedicated to the First Cause, the First Intellect, the Universal Soul, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon. They sought nearness by means of practices known among them (5), including various forms of worship, offerings, incense, and other such things (6).