and they also report (1): “Our Lord descends every night to the lowest heaven” (2), yet they do not know what this means nor what was intended by it. The necessary consequence of their view is that the Messenger spoke those words while being unaware of their import. Then they contradicted themselves in the worst possible way, saying: The passages must be taken according to their apparent sense, and any interpretation (3) that diverges from the apparent wording is false—while at the same time claiming that each passage has an interpretation known only to Allah. How can they both affirm (4) an interpretation for these texts, insist that they are to be taken at face value, and then declare (5) that their apparent meaning is not (6) what is intended, reserving the knowledge of their interpretation to the Lord alone? Can there be any contradiction uglier than this?!

These people have erred (7) concerning the mutashābih (ambiguous passages), concerning their classification of these texts as mutashābih, and concerning their assertion that the mutashābih can be understood only by Allah—so they were mistaken in all three premises. What drove them to this was their attempt to escape the false interpretations of those who distort and the corruptions of those who negate; thus they slammed the door upon themselves, saying, “We will not accept falsehood, yet we have no way to reach the truth.”

In doing so they abandoned the contemplation, reflection, and rational engagement with the meanings of the revealed texts that is commanded—activities that form the very foundation of faith and the pillar of certainty. They turned away from this with their hearts and confined themselves to the bare words that had been sent down on these matters, imagining that those words were revealed solely to be recited and used in devotion, not to be understood.