[Ibn Rushd’s Discussion in The Methods of Proof]

As for the philosophers’ discussion of this subject, Judge Abū al-Walīd Ibn Rushd the Younger stated in his book known as The Foundations of Belief:

“I have decided to set out clearly in this book the plain tenets of belief that the revealed Law intended the general public to embrace. In all of this, we shall seek, to the best of our ability, the intent of the Lawgiver—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. People have fallen into utter confusion concerning this matter within this revealed Law, to the point that misguided sects and diverse groups have arisen. Each considers itself to follow the revealed Law as originally given, and regards anyone who disagrees with it as either an innovator or a disbeliever whose life and property may lawfully be taken. All of this departs from the intent of the Lawgiver—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and results from their failure to grasp the intended meaning of the revealed Law.

The best-known of these groups in our time are four: the group called the Ash‘ariyya, the group called the Mu‘tazila, the group called the Bātiniyya, and the group called the Hashwiyya.

All these groups have held beliefs concerning