The distance between the evil and the good is great with Allah, the Exalted. [Mahamud said: "The distance between the evil and the good is great with Allah..." Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: It has been established by law that most of the people of Paradise are from this Ummah. He acknowledged that the Qadarites are few among them, and they are an exception compared to others from the sects. The matter is of this nature, and they also believe that they are the saved group promised Paradise and no one else, as everyone besides them—according to their corrupt hope—will be eternally in the Fire with the disbelievers. Based on this, this small, deviant group would be the majority of the people of Paradise, and it is far from Allah that this should persist in the mind of any rational person who is knowledgeable and aware of what has been reported in the Sunnah regarding the traditions that contradict this corrupt assumption with rejection and denial.

And who are the Mu'tazila that their hope should extend to this extent? This inference that Al-Zamakhshari derived, that the good refers to this Mu'tazili group, is akin to saying that the meaning in His saying, "If we had been listening or reasoning, we would not have been among the companions of the Blaze" refers to the people of Hadith and the people of opinion, meaning the truth. He was harsh in interpreting this verse against those who said that and counted it among the innovations, while he himself has innovated something similar by interpreting the good in this verse as referring to the Mu'tazili group, and indeed, it is worse than that statement, for he has interpreted the evil as referring to those besides them from the Sunni sects. We seek refuge with Allah from that and we disavow anyone who applies it to the predecessors and successors.] And if it is close in your view, do not be amazed by the abundance of the evil to the extent that you prefer it for its multitude over the little good. For what you imagine in the abundance of virtue does not compensate for the deficiency in the evil and the loss of the good. This is general in lawful wealth and unlawful wealth, in righteous deeds and corrupt ones, in sound doctrines and corrupt ones, in good people and bad ones. So fear Allah and prefer the good, even if it is little, over the evil, even if it is much. It is the right of this verse to be used to confront the faces of the Jabriyyah [The phrase "to confront the faces of the Jabriyyah" means the people of Sunnah. This is an exaggeration from the scholar in his partisanship for the Mu'tazila, and it should not have been from him, as there was no reason for it here. (A)] when they boast of their numbers, as it was said: "And be numerous with Sa'd, for indeed Sa'd is many... and do not expect from Sa'd loyalty or victory" ["Sa'd" is the name of a tribe. The meaning is that there is no benefit in them except increasing the number of the army, for they do not fulfill what they promised of victory, nor do they provide victory without a promise. It can be understood that the meaning of loyalty refers to the right of courage. Thus, victory is an interpretation. And in the repetition of the name, there is a kind of mockery.]

And as it was said:

"Do not be overwhelmed by their multitude... for most of them, rather all of them, are like cattle" [There remains from most of these people no remnant... that can be grasped by imagination except these forms.

Do not be overwhelmed by their multitude... for most of them, rather all of them, are like cattle.

By Abu Tammam. It is said: He was overwhelmed by the matter when it surrounded him and confused him and closed off the door of opinion. The common people: the large, dense group, and its origin is from darkness and blackness. He says: There remains from the majority of this gathering of people no remnant that can be grasped by imagination after reflection, except these forms and visible bodies, abstracted from minds, so do not be frightened by the large number of their group, for most of them are like cattle, rather all of them are so, and they have no strategy in matters of war.]

And it is said: It was revealed concerning the people of Al-Hajjaj in Yamama, when the Muslims intended to engage them, but they were prohibited from engaging them even though they were polytheists.