Rather, they leave problematic texts uninterpreted, believing that the reality of their meaning should be left to the one who said them,[4] implying their unknowability.
The doctrine of tafwid, which was held by a number of classical scholars such as al-Ghazali and whose origin they attributed to the salaf (exemplary early Muslims), states that the Quranic expressions such as 'God's hands' or 'face' do not carry the literal meanings their counterparts in human beings do.
On this matter, we follow the early Muslims (salaf): Malik, Awza'i, Thawri, Layth ibn Sa'd, Shafi'i, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh, and others among the Imams of the Muslims, both ancient and modern that is, to let (the verse in question) pass as it has come, without saying how it is meant (min ghayr takyif), without likening it to created things (wa la tashbih), and without nullifying it (wa la ta'til): The literal meaning (zahir) that occurs to the minds of anthropomorphists (al-mushabbihin) is negated of Allah, for nothing from His creation resembles Him: "There is nothing whatsoever like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing" (Qur'an 42:11)[8][9]The precise nature of tafwid has been subject to debate among Muslim scholars.
[10] The followers of Ibn Taymiyya, including contemporary Salafis, hold that only the modality of the attributes should be consigned to God (tafwid al-kayfiyya), while the literal sense of the attributes should be accepted according to their lexical meaning in the Arabic language.
[1] The term tafwid has also been used in law with various other meanings related to delegation of power, authorization of an act, or issuance of a warrant for arrest.