For if he claims that truth and guidance lie in the position of those who deny the divine attributes—a position which, in his view, is known through reason—then it is evident that the words of Allah and His Messenger do not indicate the deniers’ position in a way that provides guidance and clarification to those addressed by the Quran, if the deniers’ position is indeed the truth.

It is also evident that the words of Allah and His Messenger clearly indicate the affirmation of the attributes, contrary to the deniers’ position. The majority of people say that this indication is conclusive. The Muʿtazilah and similar deniers acknowledge that this is the apparent meaning. Thus, if the Messenger made nothing apparent to people except the affirmation of the attributes, rather than their denial, while the truth of the matter was that they should be denied, he would be like someone who concealed the truth and stated its opposite.

This is contrary to how Allah describes him in His Book. It therefore shows that this approach, which permits giving human reason precedence over the words of Allah and His Messenger concerning the foundations of monotheism and faith, manifestly contradicts the Messenger’s religion. Indeed, this contradiction is necessarily known from the religion of Islam to anyone who reflects on the true nature of this position and recognizes its dangers and dire consequences.

We therefore say:

[The Twenty-Fourth Argument]

We know as a matter of necessity from the religion of Islam that if a man were to say to the Messenger:

“This Quran or wisdom that you have conveyed to us contains many things that contradict what we know through our reason. We have only come to know your truthfulness through our reason, so if we were to accept everything you say,