the Messenger—which accords with reason—does not even occur to them, nor can they conceive of it. Its implications have come to involve subtle points of knowledge that many people do not understand. What is understood is expressed in insufficiently defined and ambiguous terms, giving rise to disputes and contention.

May Allah Most High forgive all believing men and women:

“Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith, and do not place in our hearts any resentment toward those who believe. Our Lord, You are indeed Most Kind, Most Merciful.”

(al-Hashr: 10).

[Omissions by Authors on the Fundamentals of Religion]

This was one of those innovations of speculative theology, like the innovations of those who made the foundation of religion rest upon their discourse concerning bodies and accidents. Hence the early Muslim generations and the imams frequently condemned such people.

If you see that a man has written a book on the fundamentals of religion, refuting such views of the adherents of falsehood as Allah wills and supporting such views of the adherents of truth as Allah wills, and that his usual practice is to enumerate all the positions on a question and refute all but one, yet you find that, concerning the speech and acts of the Lord Most High or similar matters, he has omitted positions known from the early Muslim generations and the imams, then it becomes clear that he was not acquainted with this position so as to accept or reject it. Either it had never occurred to him, he knew of no one who held it, or it occurred to him but he dismissed it because of some specious argument.

Very often, the truth is divided among those who dispute in this field: one person’s position contains both truth and falsehood, and another’s likewise contains both truth and falsehood. Part of the truth is with one and part with the other, and it is with a third party distinct from them. Protection from error is established only for the Muslim community as a whole, not for any particular group.