for it, and who say what Islam itself invalidates”—all out of ignorance of the meanings of the reports and failure to seek understanding of the narrations, relying instead on his inverted opinion and his reversed analogy.

I say: How much today resembles yesterday! This claimant, who attacks the hadith scholars, was al-Ghazali’s predecessor in attacking them and their authentic hadiths. Ibn Hibban’s description of him as ignorant of the meanings of the narrations precisely resembles al-Ghazali’s own ignorance of them. His aforementioned book, from which citations have been made, is replete with attacks upon authentic hadiths whose authenticity is undisputed among the scholars. He concluded the book by denying a number of authentic hadiths affirming divine decree, because—through his reversed and inverted understanding—he understood them to imply compulsion and to negate the human choice by which man is held responsible, and upon which reward and punishment are based. In this understanding, he shared the view of the ignorant masses; yet he fled from his erroneous understanding to something equal to it, or worse: namely, his denial of divine decree and of the hadiths that indicate it. Thus, he joined himself to the Muʿtazilah!

Many scholars and writers fulfilled the duty of refuting him, exposing to people the deviation and misguidance found in his treatment of hadith, creed, and jurisprudence. The most extensive, beneficial, and even-tempered of them was the esteemed brother Salman al-ʿAwdah, in his book A Calm Dialogue with Muhammad al-Ghazali. It is indeed an excellent refutation, were it not for a degree of leniency and forbearance toward al-Ghazali that he does not deserve in view of his numerous attacks upon the leading scholars of hadith and jurisprudence—although the esteemed brother did uncover them with his gentle courtesy!

The other hadith master to whom reference was made earlier was Imam al-Baghawi. After mentioning that the hadith’s authenticity was agreed upon, he said—may Allah have mercy on him:

“This hadith must be believed by the Muslim as it has come, without measuring it against customary human experience and thereby falling into doubt; for it is a matter issuing from the power—”