In their own minds, these people strip the prophets and messengers of the authority that Allah has entrusted to them, as all Muslims agree. They believe that He has entrusted the prophets with an authority which, even if that belief were true, would do these people no good. How, then, could it benefit them if they are liars and polytheists?

This is why you find among them distortions of the prophets’ statements concerning Allah, His angels, His books, and His messengers that contradict the intended meaning of those statements.

[The Thirtieth Argument]

What we have explained shows that revelation cannot be contradicted by the reason that establishes its truth; rather, the soundness of the two is inseparably connected. No believer in Allah and His Messenger can dispute this much. Indeed, no believer in Allah and His Messenger disputes that reason does not, in reality, contradict revelation. Yet the Jahmiyyah, the Qadariyyah, and other proponents of religious innovation maintain that affirming the Messenger’s truthfulness—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—is founded upon proofs that negate the divine attributes and divine decree.

They argue, for example, that the Messenger’s truthfulness depends upon the occurrence of a miracle demonstrating it; that the occurrence of the miracle depends upon Allah’s not supporting a liar with a miracle; and that this depends upon such an act by Allah being evil, and upon Allah’s not doing what is evil. His being free from doing evil depends upon His having no need of it and knowing its evil nature; and one who has no need of evil and knows its evil nature does not do it,