And al-Ashʿarī was afflicted by two groups: one that hated him and another that loved him. Both falsely attributed things to him, saying that he wrote these books only to conceal his true beliefs and outwardly profess agreement with the people of hadith and Sunnah, whether Hanbalīs or others. This is a false allegation against the man. No private position of his has been found that contradicts the positions he publicly professed, nor has anyone among his closest followers or anyone else transmitted from him anything that contradicts these positions recorded in his writings. The claim that he concealed beliefs contrary to those he professed is therefore rejected on both religious and rational grounds. Indeed, anyone who carefully considers his statements on this subject in various places will know with certainty that he defended what he publicly professed.

However, those who love him yet disagree with his affirmation of the attributes known through transmitted revelation seek to deny that he held this position, lest it be said that they have contradicted him—even though, in the positions they adopted that accord with the Sunnah, they followed his argument, which they continually invoke and on which they rely.

The other group denied that he held this position because they saw those affiliated with him professing only its opposite, and because they accused him of concealing his true beliefs. But this was not the case. Rather, he defended the well-known positions of the people of the Sunnah on which the Muʿtazilah opposed them, such as seeing Allah, divine speech, the affirmation of the attributes, and similar matters. His knowledge of speculative theology, however, was detailed, whereas his knowledge of the Sunnah was general. Consequently, he agreed with the Muʿtazilah on some of their foundational principles, which had led them to adopt positions contrary to the Sunnah, and he believed that he could reconcile those principles with championing