Once it is understood that the true substance of the position of these polytheist Sabians is that the Quran is human speech like any other, only superior to other speech just as some people are superior to others, and that it emanated upon the soul of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—from the higher realm, just as all other sciences and knowledge emanate upon the souls of those who possess them, know that this view has become widespread among many later professed Muslims: philosophers, speculative theologians, Sufis and jurists. They are hypocrites and heretics, even if they claim perfect knowledge. One of them, such as al-Tilimsānī, goes so far as to say: “Our words lead to Allah, whereas the Quran leads to Paradise.” Some, such as Ibn ʿArabī, may say: “The saint draws from the same source as the angel who conveys revelation to the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.” Many of them say: “The Quran is for the common people, whereas our words are for the elite.” Thus, they have divided the Quran into fragments and drawn comparisons for it, just as the polytheists before them did, and as they also did with the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Some of these people regard the perfect saint and the perfect philosopher as superior to the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Others regard certain people whom they claim to be saints, or certain philosophers—such as themselves, their shaykhs or those they follow—as superior to the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. They may say: “He is superior in one respect, while the Prophet is superior in another.” Their deviation and false allegations concerning Allah’s messengers parallel their deviation and false allegations concerning Allah’s messages: they compare the speech that the messengers conveyed from Allah with their own speech, and they compare Allah’s messengers with themselves.

Allah has explained the condition of such people in passages such as His words:

“They have not accorded