And we know that the Companions, the Successors, and their followers read the Quran, and that they were more knowledgeable about its interpretation and meanings, just as they were more knowledgeable about the truth with which Allah sent His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Whoever contradicts their views and interprets the Quran contrary to their interpretation has therefore erred both in the evidence and in the conclusion drawn from it. It is well known that everyone who contradicts their views puts forward some specious argument, whether rational or based on transmitted texts, as explained at length elsewhere.

“The purpose here” is to draw attention to the source of disagreement over Quranic interpretation. Among its greatest causes are the false religious innovations that led their adherents to distort words from their proper places, explain the words of Allah and His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in ways other than those intended, and interpret them contrary to their true meaning. Among the foundations for understanding this are knowing the view they opposed and recognizing that it is the truth; knowing that the interpretation of the early generations differs from theirs; and knowing that their interpretation is newly introduced and innovated. One must then understand, through detailed examination, why their interpretation is invalid, using the evidence Allah has provided to make the truth clear.

Later authors who wrote explanations and commentaries on hadith likewise fell into errors of the same kind as those found in their explanations and commentaries on the Quran.

As for those who err in the evidence but not in the conclusion, they include many Sufis, preachers, jurists, and others who interpret the Quran in terms of meanings that are sound, but which the Quran does not indicate. Examples include much of what Abū ‘Abd al-Rahmān al-Sulamī mentioned in Haqā’iq