and the points of distinction, hurling the truth at falsehood so that it smashes it and—behold—it vanishes.

I praise Him, extolling Him by His most beautiful names and loftiest attributes, and thanking Him for His towering blessings (1).

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, without partner, Lord of the Wests and the Easts; and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger, supported by extraordinary miracles and charged with clarifying the path of truth in matters great and small. May Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him and his family (2), with a blessing and salutation that will endure for as long as creation endures.

To proceed: Allah, exalted is He, knew the state of the children of Adam—their abundant disagreements and divisions, the divergence of their intellects and temperaments. They were created from natures prone to discord and tested with the branching (3) of thoughts and notions. Therefore Allah sent the messengers as bearers of glad tidings, warners, and clarifiers of what misleads and what guides humanity. Along with them He sent down the Book in truth so that it might judge between people regarding that over which they differed. He commanded them to cling to it [Q 14] as a safeguard against splitting (4) in religion, and urged them, when disputes arose, to refer the matter back to it and to His manifest Messenger. Thereafter He excused them for whatever disagreements might arise concerning the subtle practical branches (5)—because their evidences are obscure, their paths delicate, and they do not lead to ruin—and He encouraged them to engage in debate and mutual consultation,