that ignorant, biased person might think. Rather, it elevates his status and increases his virtue, for he has in this a good example in the righteous predecessors, the four imams, and those who followed them with excellence. Certainly, the scholars of speculative theology are not among them. How could they be, when they are the ones who said: "The knowledge of the predecessors is safer, and the knowledge of the successors is more knowledgeable and wise"?! This is disbelief itself if they only knew, "Grave is the word that comes out of their mouths; they speak not except a lie" (Sūrah al-Kahf, 18:5). How could it not be when the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) is at the head of the predecessors whose knowledge they disparaged! Now is not the time to give examples of how they contradicted the predecessors of the ummah, but it suffices the successful Muslim to know that they agreed with the Muʿtazilah and the Khawārij in many of their misguidances, such as their statement that the Qurʾān is the created word of Allāh. However, they do not declare it as openly as the Muʿtazilah; rather, they say—out of caution—"the word of Allāh, uncreated"! Then they interpret it as an internal speech that is not heard but understood! In doing so, they nullified the explicit statement of Allāh to His interlocutor Mūsá (peace be upon him): "So listen to what is revealed" (Sūrah Ṭāhā, 20:13), making the divine speech equivalent to divine knowledge, thus nullifying the attribute of speech, but with evasion and circumlocution! Exactly as the Muʿtazilah—or some of them—did with the attributes of hearing and sight, saying that what is meant is knowledge! Thus, they nullified the attributes of hearing and sight just as they nullified the attribute of..