of Resurrection, so much so that they considered nothing among the delights of Paradise equal to it.”

He said, “I have spoken with some of those who negate Allah’s attributes.” He then spoke at length affirming the vision of Allah and answering the objections of those who deny it, until he said:

“Some of them said, ‘We do not accept these reports, nor do we take them as evidence.’ I replied, ‘Indeed, nor do you accept the Book of Allah Most High! Tell me: even if you do not accept them, do you doubt that they are narrated from the early generations, transmitted from them and widely circulated among them, handed down from their leading scholars and jurists, generation after generation?’

“They said, ‘Yes.’ We said, ‘Your acknowledgment of these reports is sufficient evidence against you in support of our claim that they are well-known narrations circulated by scholars and jurists. So produce comparable reports from them to substantiate your claim, which all the transmitted reports contradict. Yet you cannot produce a single narration or report in its support. You surely know, Allah Most High willing, that the practices of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his Companions, their rulings and their judgments, can only be ascertained through these reports and chains of transmission, despite the differences they contain. They are the means to this