and they called affirmation a likening of Allah to His creation, thereby finding fault with the Quran and declaring the Messenger misguided. You can scarcely find among them a man who is scrupulously devout, reveres the Sharia, respects the Quran, or honours hadith. They were stripped of piety, tenderness of heart, the blessing of worship, and the dignity of humble devotion. They set the Messenger aside. Look closely: such a man neither seeks out his traditions, nor follows the accounts of him, nor defends his sunnah, nor desires to follow his example. He enjoys the standing of a scholar, yet does not know a single hadith. You see him mocking religion, making disparaging comparisons about it, ridiculing the people of the Sunnah, and excluding them from scholarship altogether. Whenever their inner character is revealed, it betrays your trust; whenever their creed is revealed, it arouses your suspicions. They were clothed in the darkness of desire and stripped of the gift of guidance, so eyes recoil from them and hearts feel revulsion towards them.

He said: It has become widely reported among Muslims that their leader, Alī ibn Ismāʿīl al-Ashʿarī, did not cleanse himself after relieving himself, perform ablution, or pray. And I heard Muhammad al-Umarī, the genealogist, Abū al-Maʿālī