By Allah, that is false. The Isma‘ilis do not truly believe in Allah as Lord, nor in Islam as religion, nor in the Qur’an as revelation. I have refuted them in

You believe that Allah rose over His Throne and that Allah has the names and attributes mentioned in the Qur’an and Sunnah. They do not believe this. In reality, they do not believe in Allah, His Messenger, or His Book in the true sense. Al-Ghazali said about them: “Outwardly they show Shi‘ism, but inwardly they are pure disbelief.” He speaks similarly about the Ibadis. He is trying to mix truth with falsehood, while Allah says: “Do not mix truth with falsehood and conceal the truth while you know.” Among his other actions is that he promotes specific remembrances (adhkar) and supplications based on personal stories and experiences rather than authentic evidence. For example, he tells a story: a man was travelling and said to his wife, “I entrust you and what is in your womb to Allah.” He travelled and later returned. He was told that his wife had died and been buried. He insisted that nothing bad could have happened, went to the grave, dug it up, and found his child alive and unharmed. This is like folklore—an old wives’ tale. If an elderly woman told such a story, we would not believe it. Yet he uses such stories to establish new forms of dhikr. He teaches people to say certain phrases whenever travelling, or to repeat certain words forty times in prostration if they want a child. Scholars such as Shaykh Al-Fawzan and others have refuted these ideas. He also defends some who declare the Companions disbelievers. When told that someone declared Mu‘awiyah a disbeliever, he defended Mu‘awiyah but avoided clearly condemning the one who made takfir. He hesitates and speaks vaguely when it comes to criticising innovators, yet he criticises Ahlus-Sunnah and their way. He says, “There are things within me that I cannot openly say.” Yes—perhaps there is within you what was within Abdullah ibn Ubayy (the hypocrite leader in Madinah), or what is within atheists and heretics. The people of Islam are not ashamed to openly declare the Qur’an and Sunnah. We openly speak about tawheed, aqeedah, fiqh, and righteous deeds. As for you, you say there are things inside you that you cannot reveal. That suggests your heart contains beliefs that oppose the truth—otherwise, you would openly state them. We ask Allah for safety and well-being. Just as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Sin is what troubles your heart and you dislike that people should find out about it.” He says that there are many things inside him that he cannot openly state. In reality, he may not truly be upon the way of Ahlus-Sunnah. When he was imam of masjid Quba, he could not openly express what he holds inside—his rationalist ideas and other views. That is why he praises Al-Azhar University, which is built upon Sufism, Maturidi and Ash‘ari theology, and rationalistic thought. Many of its well-known figures hold deviant beliefs—such as Ahmad At-Tayyib and Ali Jumu‘ah. He also praises Muhammad Al-Ghazali, who was known for denying the authority the Sunnah. His praise for Al-Azhar shows that he leans toward its ideas. If someone wants a centre of Sufism, go to Al-Azhar. If you want those who try to bring Sunni and Shi‘a closer together, go to Al-Azhar. If you want those who try to bridge Islam and other religions, go to Al-Azhar. They praise Buddhists and other groups, yet criticise Ahlus-Sunnah. Then he praises Al-Azhar—this suggests he is encouraging people toward its approach. He also praises Adnan Ibrahim, who has spoken critically about some Companions and about matters related to Allah’s names and attributes. We have refuted Adnan Ibrahim’s statements extensively, yet he praises him.