commentary consisting of reports falsely attributed to the early generations and pronouncements about Allah and His Messenger based on mere opinion—indeed, on nothing more than a specious analogical or literary argument.

He has not named the commentators whose views he cites. Even so, he has challenged their position on false grounds. These commentators interpreted “Light” in the verse as “the Guide”; they were not interpreting “Light” among Allah’s Most Beautiful Names or in the hadith transmitted from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. His grounds for challenging their position are therefore invalid. We have mentioned this only to expose his inconsistency and show that none of the arguments he advances against us could persuade anyone of sound understanding, for inconsistency is the first stage of unsoundness. This interpretation has indeed been advanced by a group of commentators.

As for its being authentically attributable to Ibn ʿAbbās or anyone else, we have not established that.

It is well known that the “books of Quranic commentary” contain many fabricated reports attributed to Ibn ʿAbbās, transmitted through al-Kalbī from Abū Sālih and through others. Reports must therefore be authenticated before they can serve as proof. One should consult the “books of Quranic commentary” in which transmitted reports are carefully scrutinized, such as the commentary of Muhammad ibn Jarīr al-Tabarī, who transmits the statements of the early generations with their chains of transmission—and set aside the commentaries of Muqātil and al-Kalbī. Earlier works include the commentaries of Baqī ibn Makhlad al-Andalusī, ʿAbd al-Rahmān ibn Ibrāhīm Duhaym al-Shāmī, ʿAbd ibn Humayd al-Kashshī, and others, if one does not go further back to the commentaries of Imam Ishāq ibn Rāhawayh, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and other imams. These are the most knowledgeable people on earth concerning authentic Quranic interpretations transmitted from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and reports from the Companions and Successors, just as they are the most knowledgeable concerning the Prophet’s hadith, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and reports from the Companions and Successors on foundational principles, subsidiary matters, and other branches of knowledge.