and distorted the rulings of the Sacred Law. They devised (1) four schools that did not exist in the time of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—(2) or in the time of his Companions (3). They disregarded the statements (4) of the Companions, even though the Companions explicitly declared that analogical reasoning must be abandoned, saying: ‘The first to employ analogical reasoning was Iblis.’”

In response, it may be said:

There are several answers to this.

First: His allegation that all adherents of Ahl al-Sunna who affirm the imamate of the first three caliphs uphold analogical reasoning is false. Groups among them are well known to reject analogical reasoning, such as the Baghdadi Mu'tazilites (5), the Zāhirīs—including Dāwūd, Ibn Hazm, and others—and a group of hadith scholars and Sufis.

Moreover, some among the Shi'a (6), such as the Zaydīs, uphold analogical reasoning. Thus, it is a matter of disagreement among the Shi'a just as it is among Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jamā'a.

Second: It may be said that analogical reasoning—even if it were deemed (7) weak—is better than unquestioningly following someone who has not attained the scholarly rank of the qualified independent jurists. For everyone who has (8) knowledge