speaks the truth; whoever acts upon it is rewarded; whoever judges by it is just; and whoever calls to it is guided to a straight path.’” This is discussed at length elsewhere.

The point here is to draw attention to the fact that, if those engaged in inquiry were permitted to turn away from the Book of Allah Most High and oppose it with their own opinions and rational arguments, there would be no reliable standard by which they could attain knowledge or guidance. Everyone who has followed this path reports things about himself that reveal his bewilderment and doubt, and the Muslims likewise bear witness to this concerning him. Thus, his own testimony and admission, together with the testimony of the Muslims—who are Allah’s witnesses on earth—establish that whoever turns away from the Book and opposes it with arguments that contradict it has attained neither certainty upon which he can confidently rely nor knowledge that brings peace to his heart.

Those who claimed, concerning certain questions, to have an argument grounded in clear reason that contradicted the Book were opposed by others who also advanced rational arguments. These others said: “The position of these people is demonstrably false according to clear reason.” Thus, among the rational arguments alleged to contradict the Book, none can be conclusively judged sound: whether because of the testimony of their own proponents against them and that of the Muslim community, because their contradictions are manifest beyond any doubt, or because others who engage in such rational arguments oppose them. Indeed, whoever carefully examines the rational arguments they use to oppose revealed law will find that clear reason itself establishes their falsity.

When people disagree over matters of reason, the position of a group adhering to a particular doctrine is not authoritative against another group. Rather, such matters must be referred to sound innate dispositions, unaltered by beliefs that change their natural character or by desire. It is therefore untenable to rely on statements that contradict the Book and that they call rational arguments,