that to describe Allah with attributes newly coined by the innovators—expressions that may be taken to mean either truth or falsehood, or that blend truth with falsehood—and then claiming that this is the very truth that must be believed, that it is the foundation of the religion and the faith Allah commanded His Messenger to convey, is nothing but an imitation of the conduct Allah condemned in the People of the Scripture, when He said:

“But those who did wrong substituted a word other than that which had been said to them.” (1)

And He said:

“Do you then hope that they will believe as you do, when a party of them used to hear the words of Allah and then distort it after they had understood it, while they know? … because of what they earn.” (2)

These people wrote down these doctrines of their own invention and told the masses, “This is the religion of Allah that He has commanded you to follow.” This is a lie and a slander against Allah. When they add to that the concealment of what Allah revealed of the Book and the wisdom, they thereby resemble (3) the People of the Scripture in blending truth with falsehood and in hiding the truth.

Allah, Exalted is He, says:

“O Children of Israel, remember My favor which I bestowed upon you … and do not mix the truth with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know.” (4)

And He says:

“Indeed, among them is a group who twist their tongues while reciting the Scripture so that you think it is from the Scripture, yet it is not from the Scripture. They say, ‘It is from Allah,’ but it is not from Allah, and they knowingly speak a lie against Allah.” (5)

The eighth aspect:
This position contradicts the consensus of the early generations of the ummah and its leading scholars, for they unanimously agreed—in this matter and in others—on the obligation to follow the Book and the sunnah and on censuring the innovations introduced by the people of