Section Five: Those Among the People of Knowledge Who Explicitly Affirmed “al-Hadd” (the Boundary) for Allah the Exalted

The statements of the people of knowledge have corroborated the affirmation and attribution of “al-Hadd” to Allah the Exalted—a boundary that none but He, Glorified and Exalted is He, knows. This was such that ‘Uthman ibn Sa‘id al-Darimi (d. 280 AH), may Allah have mercy on him, reported the consensus of both Muslims and disbelievers on this matter. He stated in al-Naqd ‘ala al-Marisi (p. 62): “The word of both Muslims and disbelievers has concurred that Allah is in the heaven, and they defined Him by a boundary (hadd) accordingly, except for the misguided al-Marisi and his companions.” End quote.

Similarly, Harb al-Kirmani (d. 280 AH), may Allah have mercy on him, stated in his creed—in which he transmitted the consensus of the scholars of the Sunnah whom he encountered—as will follow.

In this section, I shall mention some of those whose explicit affirmation of the boundary (al-Hadd) for Allah the Exalted I have come across:

1. ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak (d. 181 AH), may Allah have mercy on him. [This will follow under entry no. 14].

2. Al-Humaydi, ‘Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr (d. 219 AH), may Allah have mercy on him. Harb al-Kirmani, may Allah have mercy on him, mentioned in his creed that he was among those who affirmed the boundary. [See: al-Sunnah by Harb al-Kirmani (2), edited by me].

3. Sa‘id ibn Mansur (d. 227 AH), may Allah have mercy on him. [The aforementioned source, under entry no. 2].