yet no such cause exists; therefore, action must be perpetual. They then made a false claim whose invalidity those others failed to demonstrate adequately: that if action is perpetual, the celestial spheres and elements must be eternal.

Then, when they sought to account for “prophethood,” they made it an emanation flowing into the prophet’s soul from the active intellect or something else, without the Lord of all worlds knowing any particular messenger of His or distinguishing between Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad—may Allah’s blessings be upon them all. He does not, in their view, know particulars, nor has any angel descended from Him. Rather, Gabriel is an imagined form within the prophet’s soul, or else he is the active intellect. They denied that the heavens and the earth were created in six days, that the heavens will split and be rent asunder, and other matters reported by the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

They claimed that the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, intended his message merely to address the masses through imaginative representations beneficial to them, without things actually being as he described, and without the messengers having explained the realities or taught people how matters truly stand. Some of them even rank the philosopher above the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

“What their position really amounts to” is that the prophets lied for the alleged benefit of the people; they hold two views as to whether the prophets were themselves ignorant. These are among their various forms of heresy, outright disbelief, and blatant lies about the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and about all the prophets—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon them all.