and the way of the later generations is more knowledgeable and wiser”—although some scholars who use this expression may intend a sound meaning.

These proponents of innovation, who prefer the way of the later generations—the philosophizers and those who follow their lead—to that of the early generations, fell into error because they assumed that the way of the early generations consists merely in believing the words of the Quran and hadith without understanding them, like the unlettered people of whom Allah said:

“And among them are unlettered people who know the Scripture only through mere recitation.”

They also assumed that the way of the later generations consists in extracting meanings from the texts by diverting them from their actual meanings through various metaphorical interpretations and obscure linguistic usages. This corrupt assumption gave rise to “that statement,” whose substance is to cast Islam behind one’s back. They have misrepresented the way of the early generations and gone astray in deeming the way of the later generations correct. Thus they combined ignorance of the way of the early generations, expressed in their false claims about them, with ignorance and misguidance in endorsing the way of the later generations.

The reason for this is their belief that none of the attributes indicated by these texts actually exist—a belief based on the unsound specious arguments they share with their brethren among the disbelievers. Once they believed that the attributes did not actually exist, while the texts nevertheless had to have some meaning, they remained torn between believing the wording and entrusting the meaning—which they call the way of the early generations—and diverting the wording to meanings arrived at through strained interpretation—which they call the way of the later generations. This falsehood thus became a compound of corrupted reasoning and disbelief in revelation; for, in their denial, they relied solely