[Return to al-Khattābī’s discussion in al-Ghunya]

Abū Sulaymān al-Khattābī said:

“Know that the imams of the past and the early generations did not abandon this manner of discourse and this kind of inquiry because they were incapable of it or unable to pursue it. They possessed keen intellects and penetrating understanding, and these doubts and opinions, these sectarian doctrines and caprices, had already arisen in their time. Rather, they abandoned this approach and turned away from it because they feared its temptations and guarded against its evil consequences.

“They were certain of their position and had clear insight into their religion, through the enabling grace Allah had granted them and the light of knowing Him with which He had opened their hearts. They saw that the knowledge and wisdom of the Book, together with the instruction and explanation furnished by the Sunnah, were sufficient and spared them any need for anything else. Through these two, the proof had been established and all grounds for excuse removed.

“But as time passed, people’s resolve to seek the true knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah weakened, and their attention to it diminished. Heretics confronted them with their specious arguments, and pretenders to learning with their disputation. They supposed that unless they repelled them through this manner of discourse and defended themselves through this kind of debate, they would not be strong enough