Did Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and the Salaf speak of Ta'weel (figurative interpretation)?

Indeed, those who attribute ta'wil (allegorical interpretation) of the divine attributes to Imam Ahmad or the Salaf imply that they diverted the texts from their apparent meaning to a metaphorical one. This claim lacks proof; rather, it is merely a circulating attribution without scrutiny.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah denied the authenticity of what was narrated about Imam Ahmad concerning his ta'wil of three texts, asserting that it was a falsehood not transmitted with an authentic chain of narration. As for what was mentioned in Imam Ahmad's debate with the Jahmiyyah regarding Allah's statement: (Do they await but that Allah should come to them in shades of clouds?) and his objection to them with the Hadith of Al-Baqarah and Al-Imran, Imam Ahmad's companions differed on it: - Some said that Hanbal erred in the transmission. - Others said that Imam Ahmad stated it by way of compelling the opponent, not in agreement with their ta'wil. - And some considered it a narration from him, and some allegorical interpreters, like Al-Juwayni, relied on it.

Ibn Taymiyyah believes that what is mutawatir (mass-transmitted) from Imam Ahmad contradicts this narration, clarifying that he does not say that the Lord comes, arrives, or sends down His command; rather, he rejects those who say so. The Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Fatwas affirmed that the claim of Imam Ahmad's ta'wil of some texts of the divine attributes is incorrect.