Al-Shāfi‘ī—may Allah have mercy on him—also said in al-Risāla (The Epistle): “They surpass us in every aspect of intellect, knowledge, and virtue, and in every means by which knowledge is acquired or sound judgment reached. Their judgment for us is better than our own judgment for ourselves”—or words to that effect, may Allah have mercy on him.

As for his statement, “If Allah were to charge one of His messengers with conveying the realities of these matters to the general public, whose dispositions are coarse and whose minds are attached to purely sensory things”—and so on to the end of his statement—the answer is as follows:

There is no doubt that among the things beyond direct observation are matters of the unseen. Some can be made known outright; some can be made known only after certain conditions have been met and sufficient preparation attained; some can be made known in this world only in general terms; some cannot be made known in this world at all; and some no created being can know.

For this reason, Allah Most High says:

“No soul knows what joy is kept hidden in store for them.”
Al-Sajda 17.

In an authentic hadith, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“Allah Most High says: ‘I have prepared for My righteous servants what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has ever conceived.’”

Thus, when you are told of something that has never occurred to the heart, you can understand it only if there is something comparable to it; otherwise, it cannot be made known as it truly is.