Their calling these intellects angels is false. Those who combine their teachings with those of the Prophets then cite as evidence a fabricated hadith, whose fabrication was pointed out by Abū Hātim al-Bustī, al-‘Uqaylī, al-Dāraqutnī, al-Khatīb, and Ibn al-Jawzī.

It is the report attributed to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that he said:

“The first thing Allah created was the intellect. He said to it, ‘Come forward,’ and it came forward. Then He said to it, ‘Turn back,’ and it turned back. He then said, ‘By My might and majesty, I have created nothing more honored in My sight than you. Through you I take and through you I give; through you comes reward, and upon you falls punishment.’”

Yet its actual wording is: “When Allah created the intellect.” This wording indicates that He addressed it at the very beginning of its creation; it does not indicate that it was the first created thing. Rather, this wording indicates that He created other things before it, for He said to it:

“I have created nothing more honored in My sight than you.”

Furthermore, it is described as coming forward and turning back, whereas, according to them, the intellect neither comes forward nor turns back.

Moreover, He said, “Through you I take and through you I give; through you comes reward, and upon you falls punishment.” Yet these people hold that all existing things emanate from it: intellects, celestial spheres, the earth, animals, plants, and the like, as well as accidents such as knowledge and volitions.

The words, “Through you I take and through you I give …,” and so forth, imply that these four accidents occur through it, whereas, in their view,