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APPENDIX I

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)

AL-ASH'ARI

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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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