and al-Shafiʿi and Ahmad as well—all three views are found among their followers.

The first view states that anyone who fails to believe will be punished in the Fire even if no messenger has reached him, for inviolable proof is already established against him by reason alone. Many of those who uphold the doctrine of “rational judgment” among the theologians and jurists— including a number of the followers of Abu Hanifah and others—maintain this position, and it is the view preferred by Abu’l-Khattab.

A second view holds that reason in itself is not a binding proof; indeed, it is impermissible to punish someone upon whom no proof has been established, whether by revelation or by reason. This is the stance of those who consider it possible for the children and the mentally incapacitated among the unbelievers to be punished. It is likewise the opinion of many theologians such as Jahm ibn Safwan, Abu’l-Hasan al-Ashʿari and his followers, and al-Qadi