He stated in Bayan Talbis al-Jahmiyya (3/590): “It has been established from the Imams of the Salaf that they said: ‘Allah has a boundary (hadd)’, and that none knows it but He, and that He is distinct from His creation; the People of Hadith and Sunnah have authored works regarding this.”
He discussed at length the affirmation of the boundary for Allah the Exalted in his book Bayan Talbis al-Jahmiyya, and he refuted al-Khattabi, who had criticized the People of Sunnah for affirming the boundary for Allah the Exalted. Due to the many benefits contained in his discourse, we deemed it appropriate to append it in its entirety to this section for the completion of benefit.
Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751 AH), may Allah have mercy on him, as mentioned in Mukhtasar al-Sawa’iq al-Mursala (3/1087–1088).
Ibn Abi al-‘Izz al-Hanafi (d. 792 AH), the commentator on al-Tahawiyya.
He stated in his Sharh (p. 219), after mentioning the report of Ibn al-Mubarak, may Allah have mercy on him, regarding the affirmation of the boundary for Allah the Exalted: “It is well-known that ‘boundary’ (hadd) is used for that which separates a thing and distinguishes it from others. Allah the Exalted is not indwelling in His creation, nor is He sustained by them; rather, He is the Self-Sustaining (al-Qayyum), the Subsisting by Himself, and the One who sustains everything other than Him.
Thus, the boundary in this sense cannot possibly be a matter of dispute in reality, for behind its denial lies nothing but the denial of the Lord’s existence and the denial of His reality. As for ‘boundary’ in the sense of knowledge and speech—meaning that the servants could define His limit—this is negated without dispute among the People of Sunnah.”
