life and the requisites of its perfection, such as self-subsistence, power (1), everlastingness, hearing, sight, and every other attribute that complete knowledge entails.

Wisdom, on the other hand, comprises the perfection of will—namely (2) justice, mercy, beneficence, generosity, righteousness, and placing things in their proper positions in the finest manner—and it encompasses the sending of messengers and the establishment of reward and punishment.

All of this is understood (3) from His Name “al-Hakim” (the All-Wise). Such is the Qur’an’s method: it argues for these momentous truths by means of the attribute of wisdom, while repudiating those who claim that He created the universe in jest, aimlessly, or in vain. His very (4) wisdom includes both legislation and decree, as well as reward and punishment. Therefore, the sounder of the two opinions is that the Resurrection can be known through reason, whereas revelation comes to detail what reason itself indicates must be affirmed.

Whoever reflects on the Qur’an’s approach will find it so: God, exalted be He, sets forth intelligible parables that at times demonstrate the possibility of the Resurrection and at other times its actuality. He cites proofs of His power that establish the possibility of the intended object (5), and proofs of His wisdom that necessitate its realization.

Whoever studies the Qur’anic proofs for the Hereafter will likewise find them sufficient—praise be