Ashehristani's Al-Milelu Wen-Nihel, part 1 page 93; Al-Halabi Publication, Cairo, 1968:
Majority of the worthy ancestors recognized the eternal attributes of Allah, the Exalted. Knowledge, competence, vitality, will, hearing, viewing, wording, exaltation, altruism, generosity, bestowal, potency and magnanimity are eternal attributes. They cited no difference between attributes of Entity and those of operation. They treated the two in the same measure. They also recognized communicative attributes such as Allah's having hands, face and the like. They neglected finding suitable interpretation for such questions. However, they called such attributes as communicative since they were perceived through reports of Islamic legalism.
Unlike the worthy ancestors, Mutazilites denied the divine attributes. Therefore, they were called 'Tatilites 16' -disavowers, while the worthy ancestors were called 'Sifatiya' -attributers. Some of the latter exceeded when
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16. Tatilism is a theologian Islamic faction that disavow the Lord's attributes.
they anthropomorphized the Lord. Others stopped at proving attributes indicated by - the divine - deeds and narratives. Hence, they became two parties. Some interpreted according to a form rather concordant to the expression used. Others vacated interpretation as a whole. "By intellects," the latter party claimed, "We perceive that Allah, the Exalted, has no equivalent at all."
Decisively, Allah is neither like any of His creatures, nor are they like Him. Purports of expressions of involved texts; such as, (The Beneficent settled on the Throne. 20:5), (I created with My hands. 38:75), (And your Lord came. 89:21), and the like, are unattainable for us. Besides, we are not legally required to recognize the exact exegeses and interpretation of such texts. We are only required to believe that Allah has no associate and nothing is like Him. We could prove these matters in means of conviction."
A group of the late added the following to the belief of the worthy ancestors. "Such expressions ought to be taken as they seem and interpreted as they are, without criticizing their interpretation or passing over the extrinsic meanings."
This conception, which is totally contrary to the worthy ancestors', led them to literal anthropomorphism, indeed. Anthropomorphism was adopted by certain Jewish groups. These were groups of their scholarly who found expressions bearing such meanings during reciting the Torah.
Ashehristani's current wording asserts that anthropomorphists became a limited sect that was exhortative for Sunni scholars. It also indicates that those group emerged in recent times surpassing the worthy ancestors' instructions of forbiddingness of interpreting divine texts of corporeality. On that account, Ashehristani compares them to the Jews who recited the Torah since they were believing in Allah's corporeity purely. He adduces that anthropomorphism adopted by those Muslims was mixed, not pure, because of their circumspection against the other Muslims.
This assertion coincides the following assertion of Ibn Khuldoun and others who identified history of establishment of this sect or belief that provided Allah's materiality!!
Ibn Khuldoun's Muqaddima, page 462:
In numerous Verses of the holy Quran, ascribing untranslatable, evidential and illimitable exaltation to the Lord is regularly emphasized. These Verses were entirely negative and comprehensible; therefore, it was obligatory to give credence to them. A good deal of Prophet's sayings, as well as his companions and their followers, referred to opting for the extrinsic purports of such Verses and hadiths. Other Quranic Verses, although few, referred illusively to Allah's corporeity. Some believed and, in the same time, rejected penetrating and interpreting such Verses as they revered them for their being words of Allah. This was the purport majority of them intended by saying, "Recite these Verses
as they are. Believe that they are Allah's. But advance not upon their interpretation or exegesis. They might be a sort of divine trial. Hence, it is obligatory to abide and comply with them." In the same time, heretic people were deviated by pursuing allegorical Verses. They probed deep in anthropomorphism. A group of them anthropomorphized the Divine Entity by imputing a hand, foot or face to the Lord, depending upon illusory expressions respecting so. They fell in direct corporalism and dissented Verses of illimitable divine exaltation, that are greater in number and manifestation. Intellectuality of corporealities imposes deficiency and privation. fixing upon negational style in Verses of illimitable divine exaltation, that are greater in number and manifestation, is more approving than clinging to unessential illusory appearances. Another group combined the two evidences by resting upon personal interpretation. In fact, their claim of Allah's being an incomparable corporeal that is different from others, is seen as absconding from offensiveness of their combinatorial attitude. This claim, however, is profitless for them since it is a contrasted opinion that combined affirmation to negation in case of regarding the individual intellectuality of corporals. Providing they differentiate and deny the familiar intellectuality, they will be according us in attitude of exaltation. Then, they should reckon 'corporeality' with the Divine Names. Such matters depend upon permission.
Another group adopted anthropomorphism in the divine attributes. They ruled of Allah's having a definite locale, settling, descending, utterance and the like. This attitude proceeds straightly to chamber of corporalism. Therefore, they adopted the same saying, "Incomparable locate, settling, descending and utterance that are different from those of ordinary corporealities."
Like the former, this attitude collapsed. The worthy ancestors' beliefs and creeds of believing in such texts as they are, in order that denial of their meanings should not reach their authentic and avowed entities, survived alone.
From the above, it is understandable that ideological principals and sectarian forms of corporalism were Jewish and Sunni. Shias are totally remote from this version except that proofless and false accusation against Husham Bin Al-Hakam!!
