But Shaykh al-Islām reported from his teacher Yahyā ibn ʿAmmār that this includes the hadiths concerning the divine attributes that accord with the position of those who affirm them. Abū Hāmid, when adopting a philosophical approach, may interpret this in a way that accords with the views of philosophers who deny the divine attributes.

The same applies to the statement of ʿAlī recorded in al-Bukhārī:

“Tell people what they understand, and leave aside what they reject. Would you like Allah and His Messenger to be declared untruthful?”

Ibn Rushd the Younger interpreted this as referring to the views of esotericist philosophers who deny the divine attributes. Yet it is well known that the views of those who deny the attributes are not found in the words of Allah and His Messenger. Rather, [telling someone what] his mind cannot grasp leads to declaring Allah and His Messenger untruthful.

There is ambiguity concerning inner realities. Heretics claim an inner reality that contradicts the outward reality. For believers, however, the true inward reality accords with the true outward reality. The knowledge and spiritual states within them, their realization of Allah’s oneness, and the spiritual stations of those who know Him all accord with what the Book and the Messenger have brought. Those who possess these grow in faith through the reports of the prophets. Heretics, by contrast, grow further from Allah and His Messenger the more deeply they pursue their inner doctrines.