—and in this he was correct, so take heed, O people of insight.

As for the ḥadīth that some contemporary writers—such as al-Mawdūdī (may Allah have mercy on him), following his Ḥanafī school—cite, claiming that the Prophet ﷺ executed a Muslim in retaliation for a dhimmī, it is rejected and unsound, as a number of leading scholars have affirmed. I have treated it in detail in Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ḍaʿīfah, no. 460.

Next, I—and every fair-minded person of sound judgment—ask: why did Shaykh al-Ghazālī abandon practice on this authentic ḥadīth, which perfectly accords with the general meaning of Allah’s words, “Shall We treat the Muslims like the criminals? What is the matter with you—how do you judge?” Although the verse was revealed in a different context, al-Ghazālī is voracious in clinging to the general wording of the Qur’an—even where that generality has been qualified by Prophetic ḥadīths. The examples are many, among them his recent censure of all the scholars—hadith masters and jurists alike—for placing a woman’s blood money at half that of a man, accusing them of contradicting the plain sense of the Book, namely Allah’s statement, “a life for a life.”

Fourth: Reflect with me, dear reader, on Shaykh al-Ghazālī’s courtesy toward the enemies of Allah—the Jews and the Christians—calling them “those who differ from us in religion,” and at times even “our brothers.” Now compare that with his many stances toward his own brothers in faith: how harsh he is with their scholars, the dead and the living, and especially with their students of knowledge. You have already seen some examples of what he said about the people of hadith and their commentators. Is this the virtue he sought to convey in his book The Muslim Character, or is it an open contradiction of Allah’s words, “Humble toward the believers, stern toward the disbelievers,” and His saying, “O you who believe, why do you say…"