general concerning spiritual bliss and torment is true. Whatever they affirm of virtuous character, just governance, and similar matters enjoined by the messengers is also true. There is no nation without some truth. It is well known that the truth possessed by the Jews and Christians exceeds that possessed by these people. For the People of the Book, as a group, are better than the Sabians, just as the Sabians, as a group, are better than the polytheists.

The point, however, is that regarding the truth conveyed by the messengers which they reject or doubt, they resort to interpretations of this kind—interpretations which the messengers are self-evidently known not to have intended. Al-Rāzī followed this approach when debating them concerning the resurrection. He said: “We know as a matter of necessity that the prophets, from the first to the last, unanimously affirmed bodily resurrection. We must therefore be certain that this resurrection will occur.” This was his answer to those who raised objections to establishing it on the basis of the apparent meanings of Quranic verses and hadiths. I think he followed Abū al-Husayn al-Basrī in this. This, despite