—he finds nothing there; instead, he finds Allah with him, Who pays him his account in full; and Allah is swift in reckoning.” (Quran 24:39)

Thus the thirsty man actually sees what he took to be water, yet it is not water at all—it merely resembles it. The sense perception itself did not err; the error lay in his reasoning.

The prophets—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon them—are protected from error. They speak nothing about Allah except the truth and transmit nothing from Him but what is utterly accurate. Therefore, whoever ascribes to their reports anything that flatly contradicts evident reason is lying; in such a case either the supposed rational proof is not truly evident, or the transmitted report is not genuinely sound.

Whatever is known with certainty to have been reported by the prophets cannot possibly be contradicted by sound reason, and whatever is known with certainty to be established by reason cannot possibly be contradicted by their reports.

The doctrine of “union” (ittiḥād) advanced by certain Christians and others—whether they claim a universal or a particular union—has been shown by clear reason to be false. Consequently, no prophet would ever affirm it. Rather, the prophets—peace be upon them—may convey matters beyond the reach of unaided intellect, but never things that reason knows to be impossible: they report what amazes the mind (muḥārāt al-ʿuqul), not what the mind deems impossible (muḥālāt al-ʿuqul).

Anyone other than the prophets is not immune from error. In his unveilings, perceptions, tastes, or visions he may encounter phenomena about which he forms mistaken assumptions.