The second point is that citing statements such as those of the astrologer Abū Ma‘shar and his accounts from earlier nations as evidence concerning the oneness of Allah Most High—for which He sent His messengers and revealed His Books—is fitting for al-Rāzī and his kind.

Do you suppose that, had Abū Ma‘shar been one of the scholars of the People of the Scripture who became Muslim—like those among the Companions and Successors who embraced Islam—and transmitted to us something from the earlier prophets, Islamic law would permit us to accept that report as true without knowing its truth through another source, if our transmitter had merely received it from the People of the Scripture?

It is authentically reported that our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “If the People of the Scripture tell you something, neither believe them nor disbelieve them, for they may tell you something true and you deny it