regarding speech: I heard ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad say, “I heard my father remark: People took exception to Abū Ḥātim Ibn Ḥibbān’s statement, ‘Prophethood is knowledge and practice.’ They therefore pronounced him a heretic, shunned him, and a letter was sent about him to the caliph, who wrote back ordering his execution.”

I say: This is a curious story. Ibn Ḥibbān ranks among the foremost imams, and we do not claim that he is infallible. Still, the wording he chose can be employed both by a Muslim and by a heretical philosopher. When a Muslim uses it, it is ill-advised, yet he may be excused. We would explain: he did not mean to restrict the subject entirely to the predicate. A parallel is the Prophet’s ﷺ saying, “The pilgrimage is ʿArafah.” (1) It is obvious that a person does not become a pilgrim merely by standing at ʿArafah; further obligations and duties remain. The ḥadīth merely highlights the central pillar of the Hajj.

In the same way, Ibn Ḥibbān was pointing to the most vital element of prophethood, for among the highest qualities of a prophet are perfect knowledge and perfect practice; no one can be a prophet without them, yet not everyone who excels in them is a prophet. Prophethood is a gift from the True One—exalted is He—beyond any servant’s power to acquire; rather, from it flow divinely bestowed knowledge and righteous deeds.

The philosopher, however, maintains: “Prophethood is something acquired; it is produced by knowledge and practice.” This