and the soundness of their reasoning in ways that most people are unable even to learn, let alone originate. They therefore concluded, “The same must be true of the divine sciences and heavenly knowledge; in these, their position among mankind is identical to their position in the mathematical and medical sciences.”

There is no deity but Allah! How many nations this calamity has ruined, how many homes it has laid waste, how many blessings it has stripped away, how many punishments it has ushered in, and how many souls it has emboldened to deny the messengers and label them ignorant! The people who advance this doubt never understood that Allah, exalted is He, may grant to someone utterly ignorant of Him, of His names and attributes, and of His law, a degree of expertise in the mathematical sciences and the astonishing crafts that outstrips the intellects and knowledge of the greatest scholars. The Prophet ﷺ said, “You are more knowledgeable of your worldly affairs.” (1)

How truthful he was—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—for (2) in the mathematical and geometrical sciences, arithmetic, music, geography, and ʿilm al-īrn (3)—the science of hauling (4) heavy loads, gauging water, digging canals, and building fortresses—together with agronomy, the study of fevers and their varieties, the reading of urine—its colors, clarity, turbidity, and the indications thereof—the science of poetry with its meters, defects, and metrical licenses, fanīṭa (5), and the like, they are indeed the most knowledgeable and the most skilful.

As for knowledge of Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and the details of all that, then to