<DIV>This highly controversial treatise, written in the 12th century by one of Islam's most prolific writers, takes a strong stance against fellow Hanbali traditionists, refuting those who espoused an anthropomorphic conception of God. The nuances surrounding the intense debate of figurative interpretation and literalism in the medieval Muslim world are clearly translated and accessible to the layperson as well as Islamic scholars, while detailed appendices delve deeper into the way medieval intellectuals interpreted ambiguous Koranic texts and provide thorough biographies of great theological thinkers of the Muslim world.</DIV>