belief (1) and a commendable doctrinal path in the estimation of those versed in knowledge and critical appraisal, agreeing in most of what he maintains with the foremost devotees. None disparages his creed save people of ignorance and stubbornness (2). It is therefore imperative that his creed be reported (3) with full fidelity (4), adding nothing to it and omitting nothing from it (5) so as to avoid betrayal, that we may know (6) his real standing and the soundness of his doctrine in the fundamentals of the faith. So listen to what he says (7) at the beginning of the work he entitled al-Ibānah, for he said (8):
“Praise be to Allah, the One, the Unique, the Mighty, the Glorious.”
He then proceeded with the sermon (9) until he said:
“To continue: Many of the Muʿtazila and the Qadariyya have been carried away by their whims into blind imitation of their chieftains (10) and of those predecessors who went before them. They have interpreted the Quran according to their own opinions—an interpretation for which Allah has sent down no authority, provided no proof, and which they did not transmit from the Messenger (11) of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, nor from the early predecessors—so they opposed…"
(1) In Tibyan Kadhb al-Muftari: mustawṣab.
(2) In the original (al-Asl): al-ʿibād (the worshippers). This is a copyist’s error; the reading is confirmed by manuscripts S, T, and Tibyan Kadhb al-Muftari.
(3) In manuscript T: yaḥkī ʿan (“he narrates from”); in Tibyan Kadhb al-Muftari: naḥkī ʿanhu (“we relate from him”).
(4) In Tibyan Kadhb al-Muftari: wajjahahu bil-amānah (“he confronted him with integrity”).
(5) In Tibyan Kadhb al-Muftari: wa-najtanibu an nazīd fīhi aw nanquṣ minh (“and we avoid both adding to or subtracting from it”).
(6) In manuscripts S, T: liyaʿlam (“so that he may know”).
(7) In S, T, and Tibyan Kadhb al-Muftari: dhakarahu (“he mentioned it”).
(8) In the margin of the original: “Stop at the creed of al-Ashʿarī.” See also al-Ibana ʿan Usul al-Dina by Abu al-Hasan al-Ashʿarī, pp. 7–20, for comparison with the subsequent text and with Tibyan Kadhb al-Muftari.
(9) He quoted al-Ashʿarī’s khutbah from al-Ibana in Tibyan Kadhb al-Muftari, pp. 152–155.
(10) In al-Ibana: “But thereafter, many of those falsely claiming the truth—among the Muʿtazilites and Ahl al-Qadar—have let their desires incline them to imitate their leaders.”
(11) In al-Ibana and Tibyan Kadhb al-Muftari: “from the Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds.”