by them and followed their path, lies in three things:

First: their reliance on equivocal, indeterminate, and obscure expressions transmitted from the prophets, while turning away from clear and definitive wording and clinging instead to those expressions. Whenever they hear an expression admitting of a specious interpretation, they seize upon it and construe it according to their doctrine, even though it provides no evidence for it. As for clear wording that contradicts their doctrine, they either consign its meaning to Allah or reinterpret it. This is how the people of misguidance proceed: they follow ambiguous rational and scriptural proofs while turning away from what is definitive and explicit. Allah Most High says: “He is the One Who has revealed to you the Book. Some of its verses are definitive—they are the foundation of the Book—while others are ambiguous. Those with deviance in their hearts follow what is ambiguous in it, seeking discord and seeking its interpretation” 1.

Second: reports transmitted to them from the prophets which they supposed to be true, although they were falsely attributed to them. Idol worshippers and leaders of falsehood fabricated these reports to champion their doctrines and support their falsehood. Of everything narrated in this regard, there is not a single hadith traced back to the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—upon which one may rely, by agreement of those versed in his hadith—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Rather, hadith experts know that the reports narrated on this subject are fabrications, whether their originators invented them deliberately or produced them by mistake. One example is their attribution to the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—of the words: “If any of you thought well of a stone, Allah would make it benefit him”2, and similar examples of