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One of the greatest causes of these people’s misguidance was their sharing the philosophers’ views and receiving teachings from them. Those philosophers are among the people furthest removed from reasoning on the basis of what the Messenger brought. For the Messenger was sent with clear proofs and guidance: he explains rational proofs and informs people of matters of the unseen that they cannot know through their own reason.

These proponents of philosophy claim that he imparted no knowledge to people, either through his reports or through his demonstrations. Rather, he merely addressed the masses in a manner intended to reform them, so that they would hold beneficial beliefs about the Lord and the Hereafter, even if those beliefs were false and unfounded. What their position really amounts to is that the prophets lie in what they report, but do so for a beneficial purpose. This precluded their seeking knowledge from the prophets’ reports. If those reports do not correspond to what they describe, how could they establish rational proofs for the truth of what they reported?

The speculative theologians—who say that the prophets report only the truth, yet follow a path other than theirs in rational matters—are innovators, despite acknowledging that the Quran contains rational proofs. What, then, of these heretics and fabricators? For this reason, they pay no attention to the Quran or its interpretation, nor to hadith or the words of the early generations. And if