نعم؛ لو كانت صفاته مجازًا، لتحتّم تأويلُها، ولقيل: "معنى البصر كذا، ومعنى السمع كذا، ومعنى الحياة كذا"، ولفُسِّرَت بغير السابق إلى الأفهام، فلما كان مذهب السلف إمرارها بلا تأويل؛ عُلم أنها غير محمولة على المجاز، وأنها حق بيّن. — الإمام الذهبي، رحمه الله، من: تذكرة الحفاظ، ٣/ ٩٣٨-٩٣٩
Yes; were Allah's Sifat (Attributes) metaphorical, it would be incumbent to make Ta'wil of Them (i.e. to explain Them away from Their apparent Meanings), and it would then be said: "The meaning of Basr is actually this, and the meaning of Sam' is actually this, and the meaning of Al-Hayat is actually this", and They would thus be explained in a way that contradicted what would be immediately understood by Them. So when it was such that the Madhhab of the Salaf was to pass Them by without making Ta'wil of Them, it is thus known that They are to be understood as not being metaphorical, but instead clear Truth.
—Al-Imam Al-Dhahabi rahimahu Allah, from: Tathkirat Al-Huffath, 3/ 938-939