the imams of the Salaf: they affirm the realities and negate the knowledge of the servants regarding their inner essence (kunh).
He (may Allah have mercy upon him) also said in Dar’ al-Ta‘arud (2/35): 'This is an example of what has been transmitted from the Imams, as has been elaborated elsewhere. They clarified that the limit (hadd) they affirmed for Him is known by none other than Him, just as Malik, Rabi‘ah, and others said: "The establishment (istiwa’) is known, and the modality (kayf) is unknown." Thus, he clarified that the modality of His establishment is unknown to the servants. They did not negate its reality in and of itself; rather, they negated the creation’s knowledge of it. Similarly, such a statement is found in the words of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Majishun, and more than one of the Salaf and the Imams, who negate the creation’s knowledge of His measure (qadar) and modality (kayfiyyah).'
Among those from whom this negation proceeded in this sense—among the People of the Sunnah (Ahl al-Sunnah) before Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy upon him) and after him—are:
Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: 'Al-Thawri, Shu‘bah, Hammad ibn Zayd, Hammad ibn Salamah, Sharik, and Abu ‘Awanah used to not define limits (la yahuddun), nor liken, nor personify the Hadith, and they would not say: "How?"' [Extracted by al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubra (3/3) and al-Asma’ wa al-Sifat (999)].
Also from this is the statement of Ibn Qutaybah (may Allah have mercy upon him) in al-Radd ‘ala al-Jahmiyyah (p. 53): '(We believe in the Vision, the Manifestation (al-Tajalli), that He wonders, that He descends to the lowest heaven, and that He is established over the Throne... without saying a modality (kayfiyyah) or a limit (hadd) regarding that).' That is: from ourselves.
