a limit).
When they asked the Leader of the Believers in all matters, ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak: "How do we know Him?"
He replied: "By [knowing] that He is above His heavens, over His Throne, and distinct (ba’in) from His creation."
They then mentioned to him the logical implication (lazim) of that which the Jahmiyyah deny—for by denying that implication, they deny that which necessitates it (malzum), namely His being above the Throne and His distinction from created things—so they asked him: "With a limit (bi-haddin)?"
He said: "With a limit."
This is understood by anyone who knows the difference between the position of the believers from the People of the Sunnah and the Jama‘ah, and the position of the heretical (mulaḥidah) Jahmiyyah among the sects. [End of quote; this will follow in the Appendix, p. 333].
I say: Know that among the primary goals the negating (mu‘attilah) Jahmiyyah seek to achieve is the denial of the highness (‘uluww) of Allah the Exalted over His creation and His rising (istiwa’) over His Throne, as the imams of the righteous predecessors (al-Salaf al-Salih) explicitly stated.
Hammad ibn Zayd (d. 179 AH)—may Allah have mercy on him—said, mentioning these Jahmiyyah: "They are only attempting to say: There is nothing in the heaven." [Al-Sunnah by ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad (41)].
‘Abbad ibn al-‘Awwam (d. 186 AH)—may Allah have mercy on him—said: "I spoke with Bishr al-Marisi and the companions of Bishr, and I saw that the conclusion of their discourse ends with them saying: There is nothing in the heaven." [Al-Sunnah by ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad (67)].
‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi (d. 198 AH)—may Allah have mercy on him—said: "Among the people of [misguided] desires (ahwa’), there are none worse than the followers of Jahm; they revolve around saying: There is nothing in the heaven." [Al-Sunnah by ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad (130)].
