There is no doubt that al-Ashʿarī (1), in his refutation of the people of innovation, uttered fine remarks; such statements are acceptable, and their author is to be praised provided his intention is sincere. He also produced other remarks in which he departed (2) from certain aspects of the Sunnah; these are to be rejected, and their author is blameworthy if he persists in them after the proof has reached him. However, should the praiseworthy statement be made without a pure intention, or the blameworthy one stem from an earnest but mistaken ijtihād—so that its author is forgiven for his error (3)—then in neither case would there be praise or blame. Rather, the statement that accords with the Sunnah is itself commended, and the statement that opposes the Sunnah is condemned.

The point at issue is that the leading imams to whom the community turns for guidance disagree (4) with al-Ashʿarī on the question of kalām, even while holding him in esteem on other matters, forbidding people to curse or anathematize him, and praising him for the merits he indeed possesses. Moreover, this particular question concerns whether speech—be it command, prohibition, or declarative statement—has an outward form (ṣīgha), or whether it has no form at all and is merely a meaning subsisting in the soul. Because they opposed him on this point and affirmed that speech does in fact possess forms—namely, composed and ordered letters—thereby taking a position contrary to al-Ashʿarī (5) and explicitly declaring that his view conflicts with that of al-Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad, and the rest of the imams of Islam, the soundness of what we have stated becomes evident (6): they say, "The imperative has a form established in the language that, by itself, indicates that it is a command…"