of time, and they treated the matter in their works on creed. Consequently, whoever denies his appearance has gone against the mass-transmitted ḥadiths and against the consensus of Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah.

None have rejected his emergence except certain innovators—such as the Khārijites, the Jahmiyyah, some of the Muʿtazilah, and a number of modern writers who claim scholarship. They rely on no proof to dismiss the rigorously authenticated texts other than their own intellects and whims; people of this sort and their opinions merit no consideration.

It is therefore incumbent upon every Muslim to believe what has been soundly reported from Allah and His Messenger, to hold fast to the doctrines those reports entail, and not to be among those of whom Allah says: “No indeed! They have rejected that whose knowledge they could not encompass, and whose interpretation has not yet come to them” ⦗1⦘. For the very essence of faith in Allah and His Messenger is to submit to what has come from them and to believe in it; whoever fails to do so is simply following his own desire without guidance from Allah.

We ask Allah for well-being and safety from doubt, polytheism, unbelief, hypocrisy, and bad character, and we beg Him not to allow our hearts to deviate after He has guided us. All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all worlds.