This is because Allah created His servants with an innate disposition, and sound minds would naturally recognize the truth were it not for obstructing influences. For this reason, I cite rational arguments from the statements of the leaders of these schools that demonstrate this—not because our knowledge depends on them, but to show that the leaders themselves acknowledge the unsoundness of propositions which their fellow adherents claim are conclusive, despite their contradiction of the revealed Law. Moreover, when people know that a statement was made by a leading figure among their opponents, they find reassurance and confidence in it. This also shows that the issue is disputed within that school, loosening the bonds of obstinate resolve to follow others unquestioningly.

For although the various schools claim to rely on rational arguments, most of their adherents merely follow their leaders unquestioningly. When they see those leaders disagree and acknowledge the truth, their stubborn attachment to such imitation is loosened.

[Al-Abharī’s Refutation of the Philosophers’ Argument for the Eternity of the World]

I have seen al-Athīr al-Abharī—whom these later scholars describe as highly accomplished in philosophy and rational inquiry, and whom they rank above al-Urmawī, saying that al-Asbahānī, author of al-Qawāʿid, and others