In conclusion, I say:

Despite all this wrangling, stubborn opposition, brazen denial of established scholarly facts, and مخالفة to the masters of the Prophetic Sunnah—besides other matters whose explanation will come in the second volume and elsewhere, Allah willing—he nevertheless pretends, in his refutation of me, that the disagreement between us is purely personal. He says:

“Why can you not tolerate my disagreement, while I am required to tolerate yours?!”

Then, with feigned tears, he asks indignantly:

“How do you know that I and others write according to our whims? Have you looked into our hearts...?”

I say: Before answering, I ask: Whom do you mean by your words, “and others”? Al-Saqqaf, the enemy of the Salaf, the Sunnah, and the hadith masters of the Ummah? Or others among the Muʿtazilites and the ignorant—of whom there are so many in this age, in which petty and insignificant people hold forth?

For your statement suggests to me another trait in you of which we had not been aware: namely, that you do not judge anyone to be among the people of deviant desires, no matter how far he may depart from Ahl al-Sunnah and their scholars; indeed, nor do you declare any of the disbelievers to be disbelievers—nor this nor that—regardless of what they say or do, because it is impossible to look into hearts! If this is your view, then this is another grave calamity and disaster, in which you contradict the Quran, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Ummah—a contradiction requiring neither investigation nor proof.

I say: This is entailed by your aforementioned statement. Yet, since it is well known among scholars that what is entailed by a position is not itself necessarily a position held, I do not hold you accountable for it unless you explicitly affirm your commitment to it. Otherwise, state explicitly that you reject it—perhaps you will do so, for what you have done is enough for you.

And now, here is the answer: