And more striking still is the case of Shurayh, who rejected the reading:

“Rather, I marvel, while they mock.” [al-Sāffāt: 12]

He said, “Allah does not marvel.” When this reached Ibrāhīm al-Nakha‘ī, he said: “Shurayh is merely a poet impressed by his own knowledge. ‘Abd Allah was more knowledgeable than he was”—or he said, “had a greater understanding of religion than he did”—“and he used to recite, ‘Rather, I marvel.’” Thus he rebuked Shurayh for rejecting this reading, although Shurayh was held in the highest esteem among Muslims. There are numerous similar examples.

When statements are attributed to those who made them, or groups are identified by the leaders they follow, this is merely for identification and clarification. Praise and blame, allegiance and hostility, however, are to be based on the designations mentioned in the noble Quran, such as Muslim and disbeliever, believer and hypocrite, righteous and wicked, truthful and lying, those who put things right and those who spread corruption, and the like. Whether a statement is correct or mistaken is determined by the evidence establishing this, known through reason and revelation. Evidence that establishes knowledge does not contradict itself, as explained earlier.

Contradiction occurs when one piece of evidence contradicts what another establishes. One form is when one negates precisely what the other affirms. This is contradiction in the specific sense discussed by theologians and logicians: two propositions differing in negation and affirmation in such a way that the truth of