Whoever does not understand the language in which the Companions spoke to one another and in which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, addressed them, nor their customary manner of speaking, will distort words from their proper meanings. Many people grow up accustomed to their community’s terminology and use of words. When they then encounter those same words in the speech of Allah, His Messenger, or the Companions, they assume that Allah, His Messenger, or the Companions mean what those words mean within their own customary usage and terminology, whereas the intended meaning is different.
This occurs among various groups: speculative theologians, jurists, grammarians, ordinary people, and others. Others deliberately assign the words of the prophets and their followers meanings contrary to those they intended. They then use those words with their own meanings in mind and say:
“We agree with the prophets.”
This is found in the writings of many heretical philosophers and Ismā'īlīs, and of those heretics among speculative theologians and Sufis who resemble them. An example is someone who applies the terms “originated,” “created,” and “made” to whatever is an effect of a cause, even though he considers it eternal and without beginning. He calls this “intrinsic origination,” then says:
“We say that the world is originated.”
This is what he means by it. Yet it is well known that no people use the word “originated” in this sense. In their usage, something originated is only that which comes into existence after not existing.
Likewise, they apply the word “angels” to the intellects, souls, and faculties of the soul whose existence they affirm, and the words “jinn” and “devils” to certain faculties of the soul. They then say:
“We affirm the existence of the angels, jinn, and devils reported by the prophets and acknowledged by most people.”