If it is known as a necessary truth of Islam that firm belief in what the Messenger has reported is right and obligatory, and their approach contradicts this, then it is necessarily known that their approach is invalid according to Islam. This is the approach of those who deviate concerning Allah’s names and signs.

If what gives rise to doubt and uncertainty is not sound proof, and proof is only that which yields knowledge and certainty, while their approach yields neither knowledge nor certainty but rather doubt and bewilderment, then it is clear that their approach is rationally invalid, just as it constitutes deviation and hypocrisy according to the revealed law.

All of this is clear to anyone who reflects upon it. The matter goes beyond what I describe and explain, but this is not the place for a lengthy, detailed treatment. There is no doubt that, according to the revealed law, anyone who follows this path, once the proof has been established against him, disbelieves in what the Messenger brought.

For this reason, the early generations and the leading scholars spoke of declaring the Jahmiyyah, who deny the divine attributes, disbelievers in terms they did not use concerning other followers of deviant doctrines and religious innovations. This is because faith comprises both faith in Allah and belief in the Messenger: the Messenger conveyed reports about Allah’s names and attributes. Faith thus involves both a report and what is reported. Believing the Messenger means affirming the truth of his report, while believing what he has reported means acknowledging it and affirming its truth.

For this reason, some people understand disbelief in relation to what is reported, such as denying the Creator and His attributes, while others understand it in relation to the report itself, namely, declaring the Messenger a liar.

Both are correct, for faith and disbelief relate to both, and the statements of