and overturn his position; thereafter he reinforces the view he himself adopts with explicit proof from the Noble Qur’an, the purified Sunnah, or the sayings of the early generations.
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When the opposing opinion arises from a misunderstanding or a spurious interpretation, he employs the method of tafrīʿ, guiding the adversary step by step from his faulty grasp to the correct understanding by means of what might be called the technique of ilzām (argument by necessary implication). Thus he will say, for example, “If your statement is true, it necessarily entails such-and-such a meaning,” or, “Your interpretation inevitably leads you into the prohibited consequence of such-and-such.” After dismantling the opponent’s misconceptions, he reaches the conclusion he deems sound without saddling the other party with an invalid implication.
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The course of disputation may oblige the Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—to cite the opinions of several authorities whom his interlocutor follows, so that, by setting out and critiquing those views, he can expose their mutual contradictions and show that they cannot stand up to rigorous scrutiny.
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In rebutting his opponents, the Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—pursues a breadth of exposition seldom attempted by others and which some might find wearisome. Yet the objectivity that marks his style, together with the fresh insights he offers, dispels any sense of prolixity or over-expansion.
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His branching analysis in these replies follows an orderly pattern throughout this book, presented under what he calls “aspects” (wujūh), from which—as previously noted—the work takes its name.
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The Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—articulates the opponent’s position in such detail that his refutation encompasses even the issues that could be inferred from that position, though they were never stated outright. Indeed, this entire voluminous work constitutes a reply to a single short memorandum on specific topics—a method he employs in many of his writings.
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While dealing with the subjects of the book, the Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—never forgets his pedagogical role toward his students, directing them to the key points of benefit in the matter under discussion, as in his remark, “We have expanded on this elsewhere.”
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The Shaykh’s method in replying to adversaries follows the path of meticulous documentation for everything he presents.