mention the views of those well-known groups. We say:

As for the group called al-Hashwiyya, they maintain that the way to know that Allah, Glorified be He, exists is through transmitted reports, not reason. By this I mean that, for faith in His existence—which people are required to affirm—it is sufficient to receive this from the Lawgiver and accept it in faith, just as one receives from him accounts of the Hereafter and other matters in which reason has no role.”

He said:

“This group appears to fall short of the intent of the revealed Law concerning the path it has established for everyone, leading to knowledge of the existence of Allah, Blessed and Exalted.”

[Ibn Taymiyyah’s commentary]

I say: The purpose here is not to discuss everything this man says. His restriction of Muslims to these four groups is itself a shortcoming, since the pious predecessors, the leading scholars, and the best of the Muslims do not belong to any of these groups. The innovations of the Mu'tazilites are well known among Muslims, and the Ash'arites came after them. Whatever truth their statements contain is the teaching of the pious predecessors and the leading scholars; whatever falsehood they contain is newly introduced, like the doctrines of the Mu'tazilites and others.