in principle through reason and understood in general terms. Likewise, what they commanded is broadly recognized by reason, but the details of those commands can only be known through transmitted revelation.

It is well known that what the Sunnah teaches—affirming this likeness in certain respects, with Allah Himself being the One who created Adam in His image—is better than what the “Founder” stated and sought to substantiate by citing words he attributed to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: “Adopt the qualities of Allah.”

This belongs to the same category as the statements of the Sabian philosophers and those among the Muslims who follow their path, who say that philosophy consists in becoming like God to the extent of one’s ability. They thus affirm that the servant becomes like Allah Most High through his own actions. Those who follow them, such as Abū Hāmid and others, invoke the saying “Adopt the qualities of Allah” as evidence for this. Yet this wording is not known to have been reported from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in any book of hadith, nor is it known from any scholar. Rather, it is