Is the mere conviction of one who denies the attribute of Allah's transcendence (uluw) — that Allah is above the Throne and that the Qur'an is true, along with his utterance of the two testimonies of faith, and his claim that the issue is not essential for his Islam to be valid — sufficient to rule him a Muslim and pray behind him, or is it necessary for him to explicitly affirm what he has denied?

The ruling on a statement differs from the ruling on the one who utters it. A statement may be disbelief (kufr), yet its utterer is not declared a disbeliever due to the presence of doubt or an impediment. Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah held that the statement that Allah is above the universe is known by necessity from the Qur'an, Sunnah, and the consensus of the predecessors (Salaf). He also stated that the Salaf unanimously agreed on declaring anyone who denied this a disbeliever, because it is known by necessity from the religion.

Ignorance, misinterpretation (ta'wil), and other impediments to declaring someone a disbeliever, prevent declaring a person who denies the attribute of 'Uluww (Allah's exaltedness above creation) a disbeliever until the doubt is removed and the proof is established. For, one whose faith is established with certainty is not removed from it by doubt, but rather by the establishment of proof and the removal of doubt.

Therefore, the questioner should focus on clarifying the truth and refuting falsehood, not on declaring the opponent a disbeliever. If the doubt is removed and proof is established against the man, his Islam is affirmed by his conviction in Allah's ascending above His Throne (istiwa'), the truthfulness of the Qur'an, his utterance of the two testimonies of faith, and his performance of two rak'ahs of prayer. With this, praying behind him becomes valid.