When Allah—Glorified is He—selects a messenger, He distinguishes him with further qualities that he did not possess before being sent. This was evident to everyone who saw Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad from their states and qualities after they became prophets. These qualities are distinct from the revelation sent down to them. It therefore cannot be said that prophethood is merely a relational attribute, like the rulings pertaining to acts, as the Jahmiyya maintain.

Thus, [when] (1) many speculative thinkers—such as al-Rāzī and his peers—came to know only the doctrines of the Jahmiyya, the Qadariyya, and the philosophers, one finds them citing numerous different views in their Quranic commentaries and other books—all of them false—without mentioning the truth. An example is his interpretation of the new moon (2). Allah Most High says:

“They ask you about the new moons. Say, ‘They are means by which people determine time and the pilgrimage.’” [Surah al-Baqarah: 189]

He cited the view of those who rely on astronomical calculation, counting it among the philosophers’ views. He also cited the view of the Jahmiyya, who say that the omnipotent agent acting by choice causes light to arise in it without any cause whatsoever or any wise purpose (3).

Likewise, when discussing rain, he cites the view of those who hold that it results solely from vapor rising and condensing in the air; the view of those who say that the agent acting by choice brought it about without any cause; and the view of those who say that it descended from the