other god, no one ever felt secure about his faith—sure that it would not be stripped from him at the moment of death—except that it was in fact stripped from him.
Abū al-ʿĀliya said, “I met thirty of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and every one of them feared hypocrisy for himself.”
Al-Ṣiddīq, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
“Allah has mentioned the people of Paradise, speaking of them by their finest deeds and forgiving them their evil ones. A man, therefore, says, ‘Where am I in relation to these?’—meaning, while he is actually one of them. And He has mentioned the people of the Fire by their worst deeds and has nullified their good deeds, so a man says, ‘I am not among these,’—meaning, while he is in fact one of them.” Words to that effect.
So let the heart cool from the scorching heat of this testimony, for it is a broad and unmistakable path (i.e. a clear, open road; see al-Qāmūs, entry: hayʿ) for the servants of Allah—those whom Allah’s witnesses on earth unanimously acknowledged to occupy a lofty station with Him. Increasing in such testimony is generally beneficial, so long as it does not lead to resentment at what has been decreed, despair of Allah’s mercy, or slackness in hope. May Allah, Exalted is He, take charge of you with His own guardianship and never leave you to anyone besides Him.
As for what you mentioned about seeking the four grounds that require shifting words from their literal sense to a figurative one, I shall set down a summary of the discussion that took place between me and others on that subject—the very account I related to you and that you requested. God willing, it will be of benefit to him and to others, despite the narrative’s additions, omissions, and alterations.
Someone said to me:
“If we wish to follow the path of safety and silence—the course by which safety is attained—we say as al-Shāfiʿī, may Allah be pleased with him, said: ‘I believe in Allah and in whatever has come from Allah according to what Allah intended, and I believe in the Messenger of Allah and in whatever has come from the Messenger of Allah according to what the Messenger of Allah intended.’ But if we embark upon the path of inquiry and verification, then the truth is the position of those theologians who interpret the verses and hadiths concerning the attributes.”
I replied:
“What al-Shāfiʿī said is the truth that every Muslim must hold. Whoever believes it and does not utter anything that contradicts it is treading the path of safety in this world and the next. Yet once a person researches and examines the matter, he finds that all the interpretations offered by the theologians—in which they oppose the People of Hadith—are entirely false, and he is certain that the truth lies with the People of Hadith, both outwardly and inwardly.”
He was greatly astonished at this and said, “Would you have the People of Hadith debate over it?” We therefore fixed a day, and in the course of our discussion it became clear that the principal issues in which the later theologians who claim adherence to the Ashʿarī school differ from the People of Hadith