23.1 THE CORRECT WAY.
This is the way of the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) and his Companions and those who followed them in goodness.
Anyone who follows their way with knowledge and justice will come to know this.
And this is because they attained the true reality of Eemaan in Allaah and the Last Day, acknowledging that to be true and real, being sincere in their actions and following the Sharee'ah without any Shirk, innovation, Tahreef, or denial.
23.2 THE THREE ASTRAY GROUPS .
23.2.1 THE PEOPLE OF TAKHYEEL [IMAGINED
CONCEPTS].
E.g. the philosophers, Baatineeyah, people of Kalaam etc. The essence of their way is:
23.2.1.1 Whatever the prophets brought concerning
Eemaan in Allaah and the Last Day, are simply likenings or concepts which are
not actually real. And so the intent behind all this is to simply benefit the
common masses, who upon hearing all the descriptions of Allaah and the Last Day,
would then follow the desired way of life.
23.2.1.2 The Extreme Ones claim that the prophets did
not know the realities of these matters, and further claim that through their
philosophy and through whom they claim to be awliyaa, one is more knowledgeable
about these matters than the prophets! Hence these judged the messengers to be
ignorant.
23.2.1.3 The Less Extreme of them say that the
prophets did know the true realities of these matters, but related imagined
unreal things to the people, in order to benefit them. Hence these judged the
messengers to be liars.
23.2.1.4 When it Comes to Actions, some of them
consider them to be real matters that all are obliged to do. But others take
them symbolically claiming that only the common people are obliged by them,
while the "special" people are not. E.g. they misinterpret the Salaah
to mean their secret thoughts and conversations and Hajj to mean travelling to
visit their shaykh-s, etc.
And the falsehood of their way is clear via the
intellect, the senses and the Sharee'ah.
- Indeed we all witness that there are so many signs that Allaah exists and has perfect Attributes. And the order of the creation shows that behind it all is One who is Wise, Fully-in-Command and All-Powerful.
- And all the revealed Laws have proven Eemaan in the Last Day, which is a necessary consequence of Allaah's far-reaching Wisdom.
- And indeed most of the people are not upon these false beliefs, due to the natural aversion from such ideas. Hence there's no great need to refute these people of Takhyeel.
23.2.2 THE PEOPLE OF TA-WEEL
[MISINTERPRETATION].
E.g. the People of Kalaam from the Jahmeeyah, Mu'tazilah, etc. The reality of their way is:
The texts concerning the Attributes are not to be understood according to their most apparent meaning, and the so the intended meaning is something contrary to the most apparent meaning. And they claim that the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) knew this but left the people to use their minds in order to derive the meanings, by diverting the most apparent meanings towards these derived meanings, with his aim being to test the people's minds. So one could hope for more reward according to the extent to which one tried to divert the meanings away from the most apparent meanings, and instead understand the texts in terms of the more irregular aspects of the language.
And this is what most of the people are upon, being confused and self-contradictory.
And these people outwardly show themselves to be aiding the Sunnah. But Allaah has exposed their screens, for many of the scholars did refute them. And Ibn Taymeeyah and others did engage in refuting these people more than any other, because most of the people are deceived by them as a result of their false display of upholding the Sunnah.
23.2.2.1 Their Way Concerning the Texts Dealing with
the Hereafter is: That they have Eemaan in it, believing it to be real and not
doing Ta-weel of these texts.
23.2.2.2 Hence the people of Takhyeel have surpassed
them here, because they point out that the people of Ta-weel are in
contradiction for using Ta-weel on the texts dealing with the Attributes, while
not using it for the texts dealing with the Hereafter.
[While the people of Takhyeel are at least consistent in giving figurative meanings to both the Attributes and the Hereafter].
Indeed the people of Ta-weel will say: "We recognise that by necessity, the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) came affirming the Hereafter and we know the falsehood of any evil arguments that prevent such affirmation, hence it's obligatory to agree to affirming it."
23.2.2.3 The Proof Against the People of
Ta-weel.
Their own words above are the decisive argument against them, for these words are correct not only concerning the Hereafter, but also for the texts concerning the Attributes.
Hence by this, it's clear that the people of Ta-weel are in clear self-contradiction