I say: This is precisely what this (astute) Azharī and some of his teachers have done—following their predecessors among the Khawārij and Muʿtazilah and, more recently, the Qādiyānīs, as mentioned earlier. Sometimes they cast doubt on the authenticity of the hadiths by claiming that they are not mass-transmitted—as Shaykh (Mahmūd Shaltūt) did in some of his articles, following Shaykh (Muhammad ʿAbduh), as noted earlier—and sometimes they resort to reinterpretation and stripping the texts of their meaning, as this (astute) man has done! Although his earlier remarks merely reported what he claimed were two views, without clearly stating his position on them, he did so only to mislead and deceive his readers, preparing them to accept the view he would later favor! Listen, then, to his comments on the following passage (12 – Abū Umāmah, 14 – the narrative), “Every believer will read it, whether literate or illiterate”:

“Scholars have differed over the writing mentioned here: is it literal, or is it a metaphor for the signs that identify its bearer? On the latter view, ‘reading’ means that the believing soul, through its illumination, is inspired to perceive the truth without doubt.… Perhaps this is the more likely interpretation, and the safer one” (1)!

Thus spoke this (astute) man, ignoring the explicit statements of Imam al-Nawawī and others that contradict his preferred interpretation. Al-Hāfiz said in al-Fath (13/85):

“Al-Nawawī said: ‘The correct view, upheld by the scholars who have thoroughly examined the matter, is that the writing mentioned is real. Allah has made it a conclusive sign of the Dajjāl’s falsehood. Allah will enable the believer to see it, while concealing it from those for whom He wills wretchedness.’”

Al-Hāfiz said: