in which there would be (1) a pointer to the root of this issue, for its benefit is abundant, its usefulness widespread, and many people have been tested by it until they have slipped into a kind of pre-Islamic ignorance. I therefore set down whatever occurred to me at the moment; yet (2) were all the proofs, the statements of the scholars, and the transmitted reports on the matter to be gathered exhaustively, one would find (3) far more than what I have written here.

I never imagined that anyone who has delved into jurisprudence—observing the indications and objectives of the Sacred Law, together with the jurists’ rationales and discussions—could doubt this. Indeed, I did not think that someone in whose heart faith has taken root and to whom the reality of Islam has fully reached—that it is the religion of Allah, accepted from no one but those who adhere to it—would fail, once alerted to this subtle point (4), to awaken at the very first reminder; for the life of his heart and the soundness of his faith demand the quickest response. Yet we seek Allah’s refuge from the rust (5) that encrusts hearts and from the whims of souls, both of which bar a person from recognizing the truth and following it.