it is the originator of all existing things and their supreme lord. Thus, in their view, its rank is far higher than what is described in this hadith.

These people therefore cling, among transmitted religious reports, to the likes of this fabricated hadith, even though it indicates only the opposite of what they seek to establish: neither its chain of transmission nor its text supports them. They then interpret these hadiths backwards, using their expressions to convey meanings other than those intended by the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Thus, they use the terms “mulk” (dominion), “malakūt” (sovereignty), and “jabarūt” (might) to mean body, soul, and intellect, respectively.

Yet the terms mulk, malakūt, and jabarūt do not carry these meanings in the words of Allah, glorified and exalted be He, or of His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Likewise, they use the terms “angels” and “devils” to mean the soul’s praiseworthy and blameworthy faculties.

It is known with certainty in the religion that, by angels and devils, the Messengers meant distinct beings subsisting in their own right, not mere accidents inhering in the human soul, such as the faculties of attraction, retention, expulsion, and digestion, or the faculties of desire and anger—although some accidents may be named after their bearers.

[The Forty-Second Argument]

It may be said that these people contradict themselves quite plainly, for they have divided