knowledge of Allah a fortiori. And likewise the statement of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him: "I cannot enumerate praise upon You; You are as You have praised Yourself," and other than that. And likewise whoever among the Predecessors (Salaf) of the Umma said that His limit is not known by anyone other than Him. End quote.
And he also said (3/706):
And this which is preserved from the Predecessors (Salaf) and the Imams regarding the affirmation of a limit for Allah in Himself, they clarified along with that that the servants do not limit Him, nor do they perceive Him. For this reason, their speech regarding that is not mutually exclusive as some people think; for they negated that anyone limits Allah, as Ḥanbal mentioned from him in the book al-Sunna wa-l-Miḥna.
And he said in Darʾ al-Taʿāruḍ (2/33):
And his statement: "Without a limit or an attribute that a describer can reach, or that anyone can limit," by it he negated the encompassing of the creation's knowledge of Him, and that they could limit Him or describe Him as He is except by what He has informed about Himself, to clarify that the intellects of the creation do not encompass His attributes, as al-Shāfiʿī said in the sermon of al-Risāla: "Praise be to Allah who is as He has described Himself and above what His creation describes Him with." For this reason, Aḥmad said: "Vision does not perceive Him with a limit or an end," so he negated that a limit or an end could be perceived for Him. This is the more correct of the two opinions in interpreting perception, and the discussion explaining this speech has been detailed in other than this place.
And what is in the speech regarding the negation of the creation limiting and estimating their Lord and reaching His attribute does not contradict what Aḥmad and other Imams explicitly stated, as al-Khallāl also mentioned, saying:
("Abū Bakr al-Marrūdhī narrated to us, saying: I heard Abū ʿAbd Allāh - when it was said to him:
العلم بالله من طريق الأَوْلى، وكذلك قول النبي ﷺ: «لا أحُصي ثناء عليك أنت كما أثنيت على نفسك»، وغير ذلك، وكذلك من قال من سلف الأمة إن حدّه لا يعلمه أحد غيره. اهـ
وقال أيضًا (٣/ ٧٠٦):
وهذا المحفوظ عن السَّلف والأئمة من إثبات حدّ الله في نفسه، قد بيَّنوا مع ذلك أن العباد لا يحدُّونه، ولا يدركونه، ولهذا لم يتناف كلامُهم في ذلك كما يظنه بعض الناس؛ فإنهم نفوا أن يحد أحدٌ اللهَ كما ذكره حنبل عنه في كتاب «السُّنة والمحنة».
وقال في «درء التعارض» (٢/ ٣٣):
وقوله: (بلا حَدٍّ ولا صفة يبلغها واصف أو يحدّه أحدٌ) نفى به إحاطة عِلم الخلق به، وأن يحدوه أو يصِفوه على ما هو عليه إلَّا بما أخبر عن نفسه ليبين أن عقول الخلق لا تحيط بصفاته كما قال الشافعي في خطبة الرِّسالة: (الحمد الله الذي هو كما وصف به نفسه وفوق ما يصفه به خلقه)، ولهذا قال أحمد: (لا تدركه الأبصار بحد ولا غاية)، فنَفَى أن يُدرك له حَدّ أو غاية، وهذا أصحّ القولين في تفسير الإدراك وقد بُسِط الكلام على شرح هذا الكلام في غير هذا الموضع.
وما في الكلام من نفي تحديد الخلق وتقديرهم لربِّهم وبلوغهم صفته لا ينافي ما نصَّ عليه أحمد وغيره من الأئمة كما ذكره الخلَّال أيضًا قال:
(حدثنا أبو بكر المروذي قال: سمعت أبا عبد الله - لما قيل له:
