What is the criterion by which some verses of the divine attributes are interpreted, while others are taken at their apparent meaning, such as the interpretation of "There is no private conversation of three but He is the fourth of them" and "And He is with you wherever you are," while verses such as "The Most Merciful [Allah] ascended above the Throne" and "Do you feel secure that He who is in the heaven would not cause the earth to swallow you?" are not interpreted?

The madhhab of the Salaf is to affirm what Allah has affirmed for Himself or what His Messenger has affirmed for Him regarding the attributes, without anthropomorphism (tashbeeh) or denial (ta'teel). The blameworthy ta'weel (figurative interpretation) is to deviate a word from its apparent meaning without proof, and this was not established from the Salaf. The apparent meanings of the texts do not imply anthropomorphism, and whoever thinks so has erred; for if that were the case, it would have been obligatory to clarify them. Ta'weel is not rejected if there is proof for it, but there is no proof for the ta'weel of Allah's attributes. The sounder view is that the texts regarding the attributes do not imply anthropomorphism; rather, they indicate Allah's greatness and perfection. The fundamental principle in Arabic speech is to interpret a word according to its literal meaning, and the attributes of Allah are literal, not metaphorical. The verses of ma'iyyah (Allah's accompanying) do not necessitate ta'weel, and their meaning is absolute companionship, with its specific meaning varying according to the context, such as the companionship of knowledge and help, and they do not imply indwelling (hulool) or intermingling.