The scholars adopted different approaches to these outward-looking texts. Some advocated giving them figurative interpretation, applying that method to the verses of the Qur’an and to whatever authentic reports of the Sunnah they deemed sound. The leading Imams of the Salaf, however, refrained from such interpretation: they let the wording stand as it came and consigned its ultimate meaning to the Lord.

He continued, “The position we find acceptable and hold as a matter of creed is to follow the predecessors of the Ummah. The decisive textual proof for this is that the consensus of the community constitutes binding evidence; indeed, it is the foundation upon which most of the Shari‘ah rests.”