will find much of this. He will find that anyone who adopts the doctrine of any of the speculative theologians—even on the basis of an interpretive judgment—has some deficiency and falls short of the rank of Allah’s friends who have attained perfection. He will also find that anyone deficient in understanding the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah, following it and loving it, and in recognizing and condemning some of what contradicts it—so that he holds neither the Sunnah’s creed in its fullness nor an innovated belief—falls short of the rank of those friends of Allah firmly grounded in understanding and following the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah. Allah has appointed a measure for everything.

What Abū al-Qāsim mentions in his treatise concerning their beliefs, character and way contains much goodness, truth and religion. Nevertheless, it falls short of the way of most of Allah’s friends who have attained perfection: the finest of the first three generations and those who followed their path. He did not mention in his book the leading shaykhs of those three generations. Despite the beneficial discussions and transmitted accounts in his book, it contains hadiths, including weak—indeed, false—ones. It also contains ambiguous statements, both in transmitted material and in opinions, that admit of both true and false meanings, as well as false statements in both opinion and transmission. Allah has appointed a measure for everything.

The Most High said:

“Stand firmly for justice as witnesses for Allah, even against yourselves, your parents or close relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allah is more worthy of your consideration than either. So do not follow your desires, lest you depart from justice. If you distort your testimony or refuse to give it, Allah is indeed fully aware of what you do.”
[Surah al-Nisāʾ 135]