Speaking About Allah Without Knowledge is the

Foundation of All Shrik, Kufr, & Innovation: Ibn al-

Qayyim
The great scholar ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah mentioned the following words in his famous Madaarij al-
Saalikeen:

‫فصل القول على هللا بغير علم‬

Speaking About Allah Without Knowledge
As for speaking about Allah without knowledge, this is the most strongly forbidden prohibition and the
greatest of them in sinfulness. Because of that, it is mentioned in the fourth level of prohibited things,
something that all the divine legislations agreed upon. It is not permitted in any situation nor can it take any
other ruling than prohibited. This is unlike carrion, blood, or swine, all of which can become permissible in
certain situations.

You see, prohibited things can be classified into two types:

Things which are forbidden due to some intrinsic quality, which are not allowed in any situations

Prohibited things whose prohibition is in effect in certain situations but not others

Allah spoke about those things whose prohibition is intrinsic by saying:

َ َ‫ظ َه َر مِ ْن َها َو َما ب‬
َ‫طن‬ َ ِ‫ِّي ْالف ََواح‬
َ ‫ش َما‬ َ ِ‫قُ ْل إِنَّ َما َح َّر َم َرب‬
Say: My Lord has only forbidden immoralities – what is apparent of them and what is concealed …

then He moved on to those prohibitions which are even greater by saying:

ِ ِّ ‫ي ِبغَي ِْر ْال َح‬

‫ق‬ َ ‫اْلثْ َم َو ْال َب ْغ‬
ِ ْ ‫َو‬
… and sin, and oppression without right …

then He moved on to those which are even greater by saying:

َ ‫س ْل‬
‫طانًا‬ ُ ‫َوأَن ت ُ ْش ِر ُكوا بِاللَّـ ِه َما لَ ْم يُن ِ َِّز ْل بِ ِه‬
… and that you associate with Allah that for which He has not sent down authority …

and then He moved on to those which are even greater by saying:

َ‫علَى اللَّـ ِه َما ََل ت َ ْعلَ ُمون‬

َ ‫َوأَن تَقُولُوا‬
… and that you say about Allah that which you do not know. [7:33]

So this is the greatest prohibition in Allah’s eyes and the worst in terms of its sinfulness. For this sin
involves:
 speaking falsely about Allah

attributing unbefitting things to Him

changing and altering His religion

negating what He affirmed and affirming what He negated

considering what He made false to be true and what He made true to be false

having enmity towards those whom He embraces and embracing those whom He opposes

loving what He hates and hating what He loves, and

characterizing Him in ways that do not befit His essence, attributes, statements, or actions.

So there is no type of prohibition more serious to Allah or greater in sinfulness than this one. It is the very
foundation of shirk and kufr, and innovation and misguidance is built upon it. For every misguiding innovation
in this religion has its foundation built on speaking about Allah without knowledge.

Because of all this, the salaf and the major scholars were severe in their criticism and censure of this sin
and called out those who practiced it from all corners of the globe. They warned against their fitnah with the
strongest of warnings. Their criticism and censure for this sin far exceeded their criticism and censure for
immoralities, injustice and enmity. That was because the harms of innovation and its ability to harm and
corrupt the religion are far greater than those other things. And Allah Himself criticized those who attribute
the permissibility or impermissibility of something to Allah and His religion without any proof from Allah
when He said:

َ ‫علَى اللَّـ ِه ْال َكذ‬

َ‫ِب ََل يُ ْف ِلحُون‬ َ ‫علَى اللَّـ ِه ْال َكذ‬
َ َ‫ِب ۚ ِإ َّن الَّذِينَ َي ْفت َُرون‬ َ ‫ف أ َ ْل ِسنَت ُ ُك ُم ْال َكذ‬
َ ‫ِب هَـذَا َح ََل ٌل َوهَـذَا َح َرا ٌم ِِّلت َ ْفت َُروا‬ ِ ‫َو ََل تَقُولُوا ِل َما ت‬
ُ ‫َص‬
And do not say about what your tongues assert of untruth, “This is lawful and this is unlawful,” to invent
falsehood about Allah. Indeed, those who invent falsehood about Allah will not succeed. [16:116]

One of the salaf said,

“Be careful lest any one of you says, ‘Allah has made such-and-such permissible’, or ‘Allah has made such-
and-such forbidden’ and then Allah would say, ‘You have lied. I have not permitted that, and I have not
forbidden that.'”

And he was talking about ruling things to be permissible or forbidden based merely on one’s own opinion
without any proof from Allah or His Messenger.

The very foundation of shirk and kufr is speaking about Allah without knowledge. For the mushrik claims
that whatever he has taken as an object of worship alongside Allah brings him closer to Allah, intercedes with
Allah on his behalf, and fulfills his needs by acting as an intermediary just as one might act as an intermediary
with a ruler. So every mushrik speaks about Allah without knowledge, without any exception. But speaking
about Allah without knowledge also includes denying Allah’s attributes and innovating in His religion, so it is
broader than just shirk – shirk is just one of the many forms of speaking about Allah without knowledge.

That is why speaking falsely about Allah’s Messenger results in entering the hellfire and taking up residence
in it, an inevitable residence which its inhabitant cannot escape. For speaking falsely about Allah’s Messenger
involves speaking about Allah without knowledge. It is as if he were lying about Allah directly, because
whatever is attributed to a messenger is attributed to the one who sent the messenger. And speaking about
Allah directly without knowledge is fabricating a lie about Him.

‫علَى اللَّـ ِه َك ِذبًا‬ ْ َ ‫َو َم ْن أ‬

َ ‫ظلَ ُم مِ َّم ِن ا ْفت ََرى‬
And who is more unjust than one who fabricates a lie about Allah? [6:21]

‫ ـ‬. ‫فذنوب أهل البدع كلها داخلة تحت هذا الجنس فَل تتحقق التوبة منه إَل بالتوبة من البدع‬
So all the sins of the people of innovation fall into this category, and therefore repentance from these sins
cannot truly be achieved without repenting from one’s innovation.

But what about repenting from innovation for a person who does not know that such-and-such act actually
is an innovation, or he thinks that it is a sunnah and therefore calls others to it and promotes it? As for him,
he will not become aware of this sin of his which requires him to make tawbah unless and until he becomes
familiar with the sunnah and frequently refers back to it and continuously looks into it and checks himself
against it. But you will never see a person who calls to innovation doing such things.

The sunnah by its very nature does away with innovations, it does not support them. When the sunnah
rises in a person’s heart like the rising of the sun it dispels all the fog and mist of innovations from his heart
and removes the darkness of every misguidance. For darkness holds no power where the sun reigns.

But a person will not be able distinguish between the sunnah and innovation nor will he will be able to
extricate himself from the darkness of innovation to the light of the sunnah by anything other than following
the way of the Prophet, by always making hijrah to Allah with his heart, by asking Allah for His assistance and
singling Him out for worship, by sincerely seeking refuge with Allah, and by making hijrah to His Messenger
through being eager to learn his statements, actions, guidance, and his sunnah.

So however makes hijrah to Allah and His Messenger, then his hijrah is to Allah and His Messenger. But
whoever makes hijrah to something else, then that is his share and his lot in this life and the next. And Allah’s
aid is sought.

[Madaarij al-Saalikeen 1/378-379]

Why Speaking about Allah without Knowledge is more
serious than Shrik: Ibn ‘Uthaymeen
Allah says in surah al-A’raaf:

‫علَى اللَّـ ِه َما‬ َ ‫س ْل‬

َ ‫طانًا َوأَن تَقُولُوا‬ ِ ِّ ‫ي بِغَي ِْر ْال َح‬
ُ ‫ق َوأَن ت ُ ْش ِركُوا بِاللَّـ ِه َما لَ ْم يُن ِ َِّز ْل بِ ِه‬ َ ‫اْلثْ َم َو ْالبَ ْغ‬
ِ ْ ‫طنَ َو‬
َ َ‫ظ َه َر مِ ْن َها َو َما ب‬ َ ِ‫ِّي ْالف ََواح‬
َ ‫ش َما‬ َ ِ‫قُ ْل إِنَّ َما َح َّر َم َرب‬
َ‫ََل ت َ ْعلَ ُمون‬
Say, “My Lord has only forbidden immoralities – what is apparent of them and what is concealed -, and sin,
and oppression without right, and that you associate with Allah that for which He has not sent down
authority, and that you say about Allah that which you do not know.” [7:33]

Sheikh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen mentioned the following point of benefit during part of his
discussion of this ayah in his primer on the sciences of tafsir:

An issue: Is this ayah one of those whose ordering ascends from least to greatest in its listing, or is it one of
those that starts with the highest matter and then moves down to the next highest?

Answer: It is the first category, meaning that the most grave thing is to speak about Allah without
knowledge.

But then someone might ask: How is that a worse offense than al-shirk?

The answer is that that is because if a person speaks about Allah without knowledge, then the negative
effects of that are not limited to him alone; rather they affect others as well. That is because by doing so he
may [falsely] declare one thing to be invalid and another thing to be permissible. For if he says, “This thing is
definitely obligatory” while it is not in fact something obligatory according to the Sharee’ah, then this means
that he has removed the permissible nature of that thing and put an obligation in its place!

On the other hand, the mushrik harms only himself, and if he were to be guided then the entire negative
effect of that is removed. However, as for the one who speaks about Allah without knowledge, then even if
he were to be guided and to return to the truth and become someone who only speaks about what he has
knowledge of, the initial negative effects of his speaking without knowledge would still remain.

So it is for this reason that speaking about Allah without knowledge is more grave than associating partners
with Allah, and – by Allah – this is a matter which most people do not realize and of which they are heedless.
For you will find that most of those who issue verdicts say, “This is haram and this is halal” as if he were the
greatest imam in the world, and this is an extremely dangerous matter.

So a person should not rush to have a position of religious authority. Rather, we say: if you wish to be
placed in a position of leadership over the people in terms of knowledge, then wait until Allah facilitates you
to have firmly grounded knowledge. As for you sitting among the lay-people and giving them religious
verdicts and rulings, then we say to you: be patient, for if some person with eloquent speech were to sit with
the lay-people then he could misguide them and mislead them with his eloquent speech.
 And what we are saying does not contradict the statement of the Prophet (‫)ﷺ‬, “Convey from me, even if
only one ayah“, rather we add to that: wait, for this is a serious matter! So because of this, the danger of
those who speak about Allah without knowledge is greater than the danger of al-shirk.

[Sharh Usool fee al-Tafseer pg. 191-192]

Disputing about Allah without knowledge: Tafsir al-
Shinqitee
Imam Muhammad al-Ameen al-Shinqitee mentions in his tafsir:

The statement of the Exalted:

‫ِير‬
ِ ‫سع‬َّ ‫ب ال‬ َ ‫ُضلُّه ُ َويَ ْهدِي ِه ِإلَى‬
ِ ‫عذَا‬ ِ ‫علَ ْي ِه أَنَّه ُ َمن ت ََو ََّلهُ فَأَنَّه ُ ي‬ َ ‫ان َّم ِري ٍد * ُكت‬
َ ‫ِب‬ ٍ ‫ط‬ َ ‫اس َمن يُ َجا ِد ُل فِي اللَّـ ِه ِبغَي ِْر ع ِْل ٍم َويَت َّ ِب ُع ُك َّل‬
َ ‫ش ْي‬ ِ َّ‫َومِنَ الن‬
And of the people is he who disputes about Allah without knowledge and follows every rebellious
shaytaan. * It has been decreed for every shaytaan that whoever turns to him – he will misguide him and will
lead him to the punishment of the Blaze. [22:3-4]

In this noble ayah Allah mentioned that there are some among mankind who argue regarding Allah without
knowledge, meaning: they dispute concerning Allah in that they attribute to Him that which is not befitting of
His Majesty and Perfection, such as those who claim that He has offspring or partners, and they say, “verily
the Qur’an is [just] the tales of old”, and they say, “it is not possible for Allah to give life to disintegrated
bones,” as did al-Nadhr ibn al-Haarith and al-‘Aas ibn Waa’il and Abu Jahl ibn Hishaam and their likes from
the disbelievers or Mecca who argued regarding Allah with false argumentation without any basis – neither
of intellectual nor textual knowledge.

And in addition to their disputing with that false argumentation in regards to Allah, they followed every
rebellious shaytaan, meaning: the arrogant and impulsive ones from among the shayaateen of mankind and
Jinn. “It has been decreed for them“, meaning: Allah wrote for them a writing of decree and pre-ordainment
“that whoever turns to him“, meaning: all those who would all become allies to him, meaning: to the
rebellious shaytaan mentioned here, for verily he misguids them from the path of Jannah unto the Hell-Fire,
and from the path of al-eemaan unto al-kufr, and he guides them to the punishment of the blaze, meaning:
the Hell-Fire of extreme heat.

And what He mentioned in this noble ayah that some argumentation is like al-kufr – arguing in regards to
Allah without knowledge, meaning: disputing concerning Him without any basis of knowledge. He explained
this elsewhere, such as His statement in this noble surah:

‫ي ۖ َونُذِيقُهُ يَ ْو َم ْال ِقيَا َم ِة‬

ٌ ‫سبِي ِل اللَّـ ِه ۖ لَه ُ فِي ال ُّد ْنيَا خِ ْز‬ َ ‫ُض َّل‬
َ ‫عن‬ ْ ‫ِي ع‬
ِ ‫ِط ِف ِه ِلي‬ َ ‫ِير * ثَان‬ ٍ ‫اس َمن يُ َجا ِد ُل فِي اللَّـ ِه بِغَي ِْر ع ِْل ٍم َو ََل ُهدًى َو ََل ِكت َا‬
ٍ ‫ب ُّمن‬ ِ َّ‫َومِنَ الن‬
‫ق‬ ‫ي‬‫ر‬ ‫ح‬
ِ َِ َ َ ْ
‫ال‬ ‫اب‬ َ ‫ذ‬‫ع‬
And of the people is he who disputes about Allah without knowledge or guidance or an enlightening book
[from Him], * Twisting his neck [in arrogance] to mislead [people] from the way of Allah. For him in the world
is disgrace, and We will make him taste on the Day of Resurrection the punishment of the Burning Fire [22:8-
9]

And His statement in surah Luqman:

‫علَ ْي ِه آبَا َءنَا ۚ أ َ َولَ ْو‬

َ ‫ِير * َوإِذَا قِي َل لَ ُه ُم اتَّبِعُوا َما أَنزَ َل اللَّـهُ قَالُوا بَ ْل نَتَّبِ ُع َما َو َج ْدنَا‬ ٍ ‫اس َمن يُ َجا ِد ُل فِي اللَّـ ِه بِغَي ِْر ع ِْل ٍم َو ََل ُهدًى َو ََل ِكت َا‬
ٍ ‫ب ُّمن‬ ِ َّ‫َومِنَ الن‬
‫ِير‬
‫ع‬ ‫س‬
ِ َّ ِ َ‫ال‬ ‫ب‬ ‫ا‬ َ ‫ذ‬‫ع‬ ‫ى‬ َ ‫ل‬‫إ‬
ِ ْ‫م‬‫ه‬ُ ‫ُو‬
‫ع‬ ْ
‫د‬ ‫ي‬
َ ُ‫ان‬‫ط‬َ ‫ي‬
ْ َّ
‫ش‬ ‫ال‬ َ‫ان‬‫ك‬َ
 But of the people is he who disputes about Allah without knowledge or guidance or an enlightening Book
[from Him]. * And when it is said to them, “Follow what Allah has revealed,” they say, “Rather, we will follow
that upon which we found our fathers.” Even if the shaytaan was inviting them to the punishment of the
Blaze? [31:20-21]

For this statement of His in surah Luqman:

‫ِير‬
ِ ‫سع‬ ِ ‫عذَا‬
َّ ‫ب ال‬ َّ ‫أ َ َولَ ْو َكانَ ال‬
َ ‫ش ْي‬
َ ‫طا ُن يَ ْدعُو ُه ْم ِإلَى‬
Even if shaytaan was inviting them to the punishment of the Blaze? [31:21]

– this statement is like His statement in surah al-Hajj:

‫ِير‬
ِ ‫سع‬َّ ‫ب ال‬ َ ‫ُضلُّهُ َويَ ْهدِي ِه إِلَى‬
ِ ‫عذَا‬ ِ ‫علَ ْي ِه أَنَّهُ َمن ت ََو ََّلهُ فَأَنَّهُ ي‬ َ ‫ُكت‬
َ ‫ِب‬
It has been decreed for every shaytaan that whoever turns to him – he will misguide him and will lead him
to the punishment of the Blaze. [22:4]

And the noble ayah which is His statement:

‫ان َّم ِري ٍد‬

ٍ ‫ط‬ َ ‫اس َمن يُ َجا ِد ُل فِي اللَّـ ِه بِغَي ِْر ع ِْل ٍم َويَتَّبِ ُع ُك َّل‬
َ ‫ش ْي‬ ِ َّ‫َومِنَ الن‬
And of the people is he who disputes about Allah without knowledge and follows every rebellious
shaytaan. [22:3]

Included in terms of what this encompasses of threat and humiliation are: the people of innovation and
misguidance, those who reject the truth, the followers of falsehood – they abandon what Allah has revealed
to His messenger of the clear truth, and follow the statements of their misguiding leaders calling to
innovation, desires and [their] opinions – [they are included therein] to the extent that they enact this
behavior; because the application [of an ayah] is according to the generality of the wording, not the specifics
of the causes of revelation.

And of the ayaat which demonstrate the argumentation of the disbelievers concerning Allah without any
knowledge, there is His statement:

‫ِي َرمِ ي ٌم‬

َ ‫ام َوه‬
َ ‫ظ‬َ ‫ِي خ َْلقَه ُ ۖ قَا َل َمن يُحْ يِي ْال ِع‬
َ ‫ب لَنَا َمث َ ًَل َونَس‬
َ ‫ض َر‬
َ ‫ين * َو‬ ْ ُّ‫سانُ أَنَّا َخلَ ْقنَاهُ مِ ن ن‬
ِ ‫طفَ ٍة فَإِذَا ه َُو خ‬
ٌ ِ‫َصي ٌم ُّمب‬ ِ ْ ‫أ َ َولَ ْم يَ َر‬
َ ‫اْلن‬
Does man not consider that We created him from a [mere] sperm-drop – then at once he is a clear
adversary? * And he presents for Us an example and forgets his [own] creation. He says, “Who will give life to
bones while they are disintegrated?” [36:77-78]

And His statement at the beginning of surah al-Nahl:

ٌ ِ‫َصي ٌم ُّمب‬
‫ين‬ ْ ُّ‫سانَ مِ ن ن‬
ِ ‫طفَ ٍة فَإِذَا ه َُو خ‬ ِ ْ َ‫َخلَق‬
َ ‫اْلن‬
He created man from a sperm-drop; then at once, he is a clear disputant. [16:4]

And His statement:

‫َويُ َجا ِد ُل الَّذِينَ َكف َُروا ِب ْال َباطِ ِل ِليُ ْدحِ ضُوا بِ ِه ْال َح َّق‬
And those who disbelieve dispute by [using] falsehood to [attempt to] invalidate thereby the truth [18:56]
 And His statement:

َ ‫ضبٌ َولَ ُه ْم‬

َ ٌ‫عذَاب‬
‫شدِي ٌد‬ َ ‫غ‬ َ ‫ضة ٌ عِن َد َربِِّ ِه ْم َو‬
َ ‫علَ ْي ِه ْم‬ َ ‫َوالَّذِينَ يُ َحاجُّونَ فِي اللَّـ ِه مِ ن بَ ْع ِد َما ا ْست ُ ِج‬
َ ِ‫يب لَه ُ ُح َّجت ُ ُه ْم دَاح‬
And those who argue concerning Allah after He has been responded to – their argument is invalid with
their Lord, and upon them is [His] wrath, and for them is a severe punishment. [42:16]

And His statement:

َ ‫َوقَالُوا أَآ ِل َهتُنَا َخي ٌْر أ َ ْم ه َُو ۚ َما‬

ِ ‫ض َربُوهُ لَكَ إِ ََّل َج َد ًَل ۚ بَ ْل ُه ْم قَ ْو ٌم خ‬
َ‫َص ُمون‬
And they said, “Are your gods better, or is he?” They did not present the comparison except for [mere]
argument. But, [in fact], they are a people prone to dispute. [43:58]

And His statement:

َ‫ير ْاْل َ َّولِين‬ َ َ ‫َو ِإن َي َر ْوا ُك َّل آ َي ٍة ََّل يُؤْ مِ نُوا ِب َها ۚ َحتَّى ِإذَا َجا ُءوكَ يُ َجا ِدلُونَكَ َيقُو ُل الَّذِينَ َكف َُروا ِإ ْن هَـذَا ِإ ََّل أ‬
ُ ِ‫ساط‬
And if they should see every sign, they will not believe in it. Even when they come to you arguing with you,
those who disbelieve say, “This is not but legends of the former peoples.” [6:25]

And there are many ayaat like this. And from what Allah mentioned in this noble ayah is that He decreed
and pre-ordained that whoever turns to the shaytaan, then verily the shaytaan will mislead him and guide
him to the punishment of the blaze. He explained this elsewhere, such as His statement:

‫ِير‬
ِ ‫سع‬َّ ‫ب ال‬ ْ َ ‫عد ًُّوا ۚ إِنَّ َما يَ ْدعُو حِ ْزبَهُ ِليَ ُكونُوا مِ ْن أ‬
ِ ‫ص َحا‬ َ ُ‫عد ٌُّو فَاتَّخِ ذُوه‬ َ ‫ش ْي‬
َ ‫طانَ لَ ُك ْم‬ َّ ‫إِ َّن ال‬

Indeed, Satan is an enemy to you; so take him as an enemy. He only invites his party to be among the
companions of the Blaze. [35:6]

And His statement:

‫ِير‬
ِ ‫سع‬ ِ ‫عذَا‬
َّ ‫ب ال‬ َّ ‫أ َ َولَ ْو َكانَ ال‬
َ ‫ش ْي‬
َ ‫طا ُن يَ ْدعُو ُه ْم ِإلَى‬
Even if Satan was inviting them to the punishment of the Blaze? [31:21]

And His statement regarding His prophet and His Khaleel Ibrahim:

‫ان َو ِليًّا‬
ِ ‫ط‬َ ‫ش ْي‬
َّ ‫الرحْ َمـ ِن فَت َ ُكونَ لِل‬ َ َ‫َاف أَن يَ َمسَّك‬
َّ َ‫عذَابٌ ِ ِّمن‬ ُ ‫ت إِنِِّي أَخ‬
ِ َ‫يَا أَب‬
O my father, indeed I fear that there will touch you a punishment from the Most Merciful so you would be
to Satan a companion [in Hellfire]. [19:45]

And His statement:

‫ان فَإِنَّه ُ يَأ ْ ُم ُر بِ ْالفَحْ شَاءِ َو ْال ُمنك َِر‬

ِ ‫ط‬َ ‫ش ْي‬
َّ ‫ت ال‬ ُ ‫َو َمن يَتَّبِ ْع ُخ‬
ِ ‫ط َوا‬
And whoever follows the footsteps of Satan – indeed, he enjoins immorality and wrongdoing. [24:21]

And elsewhere from His ayaat.

‫ كهذا القرآن‬، ‫ أنه من يجادل بعلم على ضوء هدى كتاب منير‬: ‫ أعني مفهوم مخالفتها‬، ‫واعلم أنه يفهم من دليل خطاب هذه اآلية الكريمة‬
‫ ] أنه إن كان بعلم‬3 \ 22 [ ‫ بغير علم‬: ‫العظيم ; ليحق الحق ويبطل الباطل بتلك المجادلة الحسنة – أن ذلك سائغ محمود ; ْلن مفهوم قوله‬
‫ ادع إلى سبيل ربك بالحكمة والموعظة الحسنة‬: ‫ ويدل لهذا المفهوم المذكور قوله تعالى‬، ‫ ول يس في ذلك اتباع للشيطان‬، ‫فاْلمر بخَلف ذلك‬
‫ ـ‬. ‫ وَل تجادلوا أهل الكتاب إَل بالتي هي أحسن‬: ‫ وقوله تعالى‬، ] 125 \ 16 [ ‫وجادلهم بالتي هي أحسن‬

And know that it is understood from the evidence of the language of this noble ayah – i.e., its opposite is to
be understood – that whoever argues with knowledge upon the light of guidance of an illuminating Book,
such as the magnificent Qur’an, in order to verify the truth and to falsify falsehood with this good
argumentation – [it is to be understood that] this is good and praiseworthy. This is because it is understood
from His statement, “without knowledge” that if it were to be done with knowledge, then the case is contrary
to that [i.e. contrary to that blameworthy state]. And that is not in any way following the shaytaan, and this is
proven by the understanding mentioned in His statement:

َ ‫سنَ ِة ۖ َو َجاد ِْل ُهم بِالَّتِي ه‬

َ ْ‫ِي أَح‬
‫س ُن‬ َ ‫ظ ِة ْال َح‬
َ ‫سبِي ِل َربِِّكَ بِ ْالحِ ْك َم ِة َو ْال َم ْو ِع‬
َ ‫ا ْدعُ ِإلَى‬

Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best.
[16:125]

And His statement:

َ ْ‫ِي أَح‬
‫س ُن‬ ِ ‫َو ََل ت ُ َجا ِدلُوا أ َ ْه َل ْال ِكت َا‬
َ ‫ب إِ ََّل بِالَّتِي ه‬

And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best [29:46]

‫ هذه اآلية بمفهومها تدل على جواز المجادلة الحقة ; ْلن تخصيص المجادلة مع عدم العلم بالدَلئل يدل على‬: ‫وقال الفخر الرازي في تفسيره‬
‫ ] والمجادلة الحقة هي المراد من قوله‬58 \ 43 [ ‫ ما ضربوه لك إَل جدَل‬: ‫ هي المراد من قوله‬: ‫ فالمجادلة الباطلة‬، ‫أن المجادلة مع العلم جائزة‬
‫ ـ‬. ‫ ] ا هـ منه‬125 \ 16 [ ‫ وجادلهم بالتي هي أحسن‬:

And al-Fakhr al-Raazi said in his tafsir: According to its connotation, this ayah demonstrates the
permissibility to argue using the truth, because the specification of arguing with an absence of knowledge of
the evidences proves that arguing with knowledge is permissible. So false arguing is the intended meaning of
His statement:

‫ض َربُوهُ لَكَ إِ ََّل َج َد ًَل‬

َ ‫َما‬

They did not present the comparison except for [mere] argument [43:58]

And truthful arguing is the intended meaning of His statement:

َ ‫َو َجاد ِْل ُهم بِالَّتِي ه‬

َ ْ‫ِي أَح‬
‫س ُن‬
 And argue with them in a way that is best [16:125]

[Adhwaa’ al-Bayaan 4/262-264]