What is the meaning of the Salaf's saying: "We pass them as they came"?

The phrase "without a 'how'" (بلا كيف) in the context of affirming God's attributes is widely used by the imams of the Salaf. It means that one does not ask about the modality (كيفية) of God's attributes, because human beings do not know their modality.

This phrase has been transmitted from Al-Awza'i, Sufyan al-Thawri, Malik ibn Anas, Al-Layth ibn Sa'd, Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and other scholars.

The meaning of "without a 'how'" is to believe in the attribute without delving into its modality, because the modality is unknown and incomprehensible to humans. It does not imply negating the attribute or its meaning.

Ibn Taymiyyah clarified that the Salaf negated knowledge of the modality but did not negate the reality of the attribute. If they had believed in the mere wording without understanding its meaning, they would not have said: "The 'istiwa' (ascension) is not unknown, and the modality is incomprehensible."

Ibn al-Qayyim explained that the human intellect despairs of knowing the essence and modality of God's attributes, so "without a 'how'" means without a modality that human beings can comprehend.