the caliphate of the three caliphs, and it was also the position of many followers of the four imams: the adherents of Abū Hanīfah, Mālik, al-Shāfi'ī, Ahmad, and others.

[The Meaning of the Designation Ahl al-Sunnah and Their Position on the Use of the Term “Body”]

The designation “Ahl al-Sunnah” may refer to all who affirm the caliphate of the three caliphs. This includes (1) every sect except the Rāfidah. It may also refer specifically to the adherents of hadith and the pure Sunnah, in which case it includes only those who affirm (2) the attributes of Allah Most High; maintain that the Quran is uncreated and that Allah will be seen in the Hereafter; affirm the divine decree; and uphold the other foundational doctrines (3) recognized among the adherents of hadith and the Sunnah.

This Rāfidī—[meaning the author] (4)—used “Ahl al-Sunnah” according to the first definition, which is the common usage: anyone who is not a Rāfidī is said to belong to Ahl al-Sunnah. He then proceeded to attribute to them doctrines held only by some of them, while also distorting those doctrines. His account thus contains falsehood and inconsistency that are readily apparent to people of understanding.

Once it is known [that] by Ahl al-Sunnah he means (5) the Sunnīs in the broad sense, it follows that they disagree over affirming or denying corporeality, as explained above. The Imāmiyyah likewise disagree over this matter.

The leading proponents of negation are the Jahmiyyah among the Mu'tazilah and others like them. They brand anyone who affirms the attributes as a corporealist, based on their premise that attributes (6) can subsist only in a body.