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the Apostles of God; we oppose nothing thereof. That God is One God, Single, One,
Eternal; beside Him no God exists; He has taken to Himself no wife (sahiba), nor
child (walad); and that Muhammad is His Servant (abd) and His Apostle. That
Paradise and Hell are Verity and that the Hour (as-sa'a) will come without doubt,
and God will arouse those that are in the graves. That God has settled Himself (istawa)
upon His throne, as He has said, (Qur. 20, 4); "the Rahman has settled Himself upon
His throne." That God has a countenance, as He has said, (Qur. 55, 27); "and the
countenance of thy Lord will abide, full of majesty and glory;" and two hands, as He
has said, (Qur. 5, 69); "much more! both His hands are spread out," and (Qur.
38, 75); "that which I have created with both My hands;" and two eyes, without
asking how (bila kayfa), as He has said, (Qur. 54, 14) ; "which swims forth
under Our eyes." That whoever thinks that God's name is other than He, is in error.
That God has Knowledge (ilm), as He has said, (Qur. 35, 12); "Not one woman
becomes pregnant and brings forth, except by His knowledge." We maintain that God has
Power (qudra), as He has said, (Qur. 41, 14); "and have they not seen that God
who created them is stronger than they?" We maintain that God has Hearing (sam)
and Seeing (basar) and do not deny it, as do the Mu'tazilites, Jahmites and
Kharijites. We teach that God's Word (kalam) is uncreated, and that He has never
created anything except by saying to it, "Be!" and it forthwith became, as He
has said, (Qur. 16, 42); "Our speech to anything when We willed it was, 'Be' and it
was." Nothing exists upon earth, be it good or bad, but that which, God wills; but
all things are by God's Will (mashya). No one is able to do anything before God
does it, neither is anyone independent of God, nor can he withdraw himself from God's
Knowledge. There is no Creator but God. The works (amals) of creatures are created
and predestined by God, as He said, (Qur. 37, 94); "and God has created you and what
ye do." Man is able to create nothing; but they are created, as He has said, (Qur.
35, 31) ; "Is there any Creator except God?" and (Qur. 16, 17)
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"and is He who created like him who created not?" and (Qur. 52, 35) ;
"were they created out of nothing, or are they the creators?" and such passages
are many in the Qur'an. And God maintains the believers in obedience to Him, is gracious
unto them, cares for them, reforms them, and guides them aright; but the unbelievers He
leads astray, guides them not aright, vouchsafes them not Faith (iman), by His
Grace, as the People of error and pride maintain. For should He be gracious unto them and
help them aright, then would they be pious, and should He guide them aright, then would
they allow themselves to be guided aright, as He has said, (Qur. 7, 177); "whom God
guideth aright, he allows himself to be guided aright, and whom He leads astray, they are
the losers." God is able to help the unbelieving aright and to be gracious unto them,
so that they shall become believing, but He wills that they shall be unbelieving as is
known. For He has made them impervious to all help and sealed their hearts. Good and Evil
happen according to the Destiny (qada) and Decree (qadar) of God for good
and evil, for the sweet and the bitter. We know that the misfortune that befalls us is not
in order that we may go astray, and that the good fortune which befalls us is not in order
that we may go aright. We have no control over that which is good or hurtful to us, except
so far as God wills. We flee from our anxieties to God and commit at all times our
distress and poverty to Him. We teach that the Qur'an is God's Word, and that it is
uncreated, and that whosoever says that it is created is an unbeliever (kafir). We
believe that God at the Day of Resurrection (yawm al-qiyama) will be visible to the
eyes, as the moon is seen upon the night of the full moon; the believers will see Him,
according to traditions which have come down from the Prophet. We teach that while the
believers will see Him, the unbelievers will be separated from Him by a wall of division,
as God has said, (Qur. 83, 15); "Surely not! They will be separated from their Lord,
upon that Day." We teach that Moses besought God that he might see Him in this world;
then God revealed Himself to the mountain and turned it into
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