of texts: if the material is a ḥadīth he states its degree of authenticity, and if it is a scholarly opinion he attributes it to its author and indicates precisely where it can be found in that scholar’s works.
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The Shaykh’s methodology in this book exemplifies the approach of the encyclopedic Muslim thinker who has thoroughly absorbed the sources of the Qur’an and Sunnah, engaged his intellect in their service, and employed them as the standard by which he addresses every intellectual current presented to him. Thus he combines narration and critical analysis, text and a keen awareness of its import, while also keeping abreast of the ideas circulating in the realm of thought, whether they accord with revelation or diverge from it—qualities that rarely converge in a single scholar’s method.
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In light of the foregoing features, the Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—opens the book by citing the memorandum sent to him, which raised three issues: (a) how the common folk discuss the divine attributes, (b) the questions of direction and corporeality, and (c) the speech of Allah Most High. He refutes the first issue in seventeen aspects, the second in fourteen, and devotes the fourteenth aspect to affirm that Allah speaks with speech that subsists in His will and power, and that the term “speech” encompasses both letters and meanings. This affirmation obliges him to engage those who claim that the Qur’an is created and that the word “Qur’an” refers only to letters and sounds.
As for those who argue that the Qur’an is an internal meaning subsisting in the Divine Self, devoid of letter or sound, and that the Qur’an in the Muslims’ hands is merely a report or paraphrase, the Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—dedicates the greater part of this work to refuting them. He does so in seventy-eight aspects, from which he branches off into subsidiary discussions on particular issues, all of which he records.
[Manuscript Copies of the Book]
I exerted every effort to obtain as many manuscript copies of the work as possible, and the copies I was able to secure are as follows:
[First Copy]
I obtained this copy from the National Library of Egypt, catalogue number 289 – Taymūr Theology. It comprises 364 medium-sized folios, each page containing 26 lines.