and His Messenger, or construes them in accordance with his own school and that of his group, or wishes that the verses concerning Allah’s attributes had never been revealed and that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—had never uttered the hadiths concerning His attributes. One of the clearest signs of his hatred and aversion toward them is that, when he hears Ahl al-Sunnah citing them as evidence for the truth they convey, he recoils, turns away, and draws back because of the hatred and aversion toward them in his heart. Who could hate the Messenger more than such a person? Likewise, those given to musical listening, who dance to singing, poetry, tambourines, and flutes, find the Quran tedious and burdensome when they hear it recited in their gatherings. What hatred could be greater than this? Apply the same reasoning to the other groups in this regard.

The same applies to anyone who gives precedence to people’s words and learning over the Quran and Sunnah. Were he not hateful toward what the Messenger brought, he would not do so. Some even forget the Quran after having memorized it, occupying themselves instead with the words of so-and-so and so-and-so. But those who hate and reject it most are those who disbelieve in it, deny it, and describe it as “tales of the ancients” and “magic handed down.” Such a person is cut off most severely and grievously. Everyone who hates it has a share of this severance in proportion to his hatred. Because these people hated and opposed it, Allah recompensed them by making all good hostile to them and cutting them off from it. He favoured His Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—with the opposite: He granted him al-Kawthar, which is part of the abundant good Allah bestowed upon him in this world