some of those who affirm these attributes is a fault, then shirk is far more widespread among others, and the criticism and reproach directed at those who deny the attributes, on account of the shirk found among them, would be far greater and more severe.

The tenth argument: His statement, “Thus it is established that the religion of idol worship is like an offshoot of the doctrine of the proponents of tashbīh,” requires clarification. Some offshoots necessarily follow from their foundation. If the foundation entails the existence of an unsound offshoot, then the offshoot’s unsoundness or nonexistence indicates that the foundation is unsound or nonexistent. Other offshoots entail their foundation without necessarily following from it—and this is generally the case. Their unsoundness or nonexistence does not entail the unsoundness or nonexistence of the foundation; rather, the foundation’s unsoundness or nonexistence entails the unsoundness or nonexistence of the offshoot.

The first kind is illustrated by the words of Allah Most High:

“Allah presents a parable: a good word is like a good tree, whose root is firmly established and whose branches reach into the sky. {24} It yields its fruit at all times by its Lord’s permission. And Allah presents parables for people so that they may take heed. {25} And the likeness of an evil word is that of an evil tree, uprooted from the surface of the earth, having no stability. {26}” [Ibrāhīm 24–26]

The two words are the word of faith and belief in Allah’s oneness, and the word of disbelief and belief in shirk. There is no doubt that beliefs give rise to