the Messenger neither made this method obligatory nor called people to it, nor did the faith of the earliest forerunners depend upon it.

Most of the sequence he outlined is disputed.

His statement, “Their truthfulness can be known only through miracles,” is disputed by many groups—indeed, by most people.

His statement, “Miracles indicate their truthfulness only if they come from One who does not do what is evil,” is likewise disputed by many groups.

His statement, “His self-sufficiency can be known only if it is known that He is not a body,” is also disputed by many groups.

The same applies to his statement, “Nor can this be known unless it is known that He knows by virtue of His essence.” By this he means denying the attributes and asserting that the Quran is created, that Allah will not be seen in the Hereafter, and similar claims disputed by many groups.

His statement, “His essence can be known only by inferring it from His acts, for it is neither directly observed nor known immediately,” is disputed by other groups.

This, then, is the sequence the Muʿtazilah prescribe for attaining knowledge of Allah and His messengers.

Other groups of speculative theologians prescribe a different sequence, which faces objections and counterarguments of the same kind as those raised against this group’s sequence.