arise through purification of the soul, without sense perception, transmitted reports, or rational inquiry; that this is the Sufis’ method; and that they are certain of their beliefs concerning divine matters, unlike practitioners of rational inquiry, who may not attain such certainty.

If this is so, then even if spiritual discipline is not the sole means of attaining knowledge of Allah, it must at least be counted among the means that yield knowledge of Allah Most High.

[Al-Rāzī’s discussion of innate knowledge in Nihāyat al-ʿUqūl]

Al-Rāzī responded in his major work, Nihāyat al-ʿUqūl:

“The beliefs attained through purification either constitute necessary knowledge or do not.

“If they constitute necessary knowledge, we have no objection to them, for we may concede that knowledge attained through rational inquiry can become necessary knowledge. If they do not constitute necessary knowledge, then either the loss of those beliefs necessarily entails the loss of some necessary knowledge, or it does [not]. If it does, then that knowledge was attained on the basis of that necessary knowledge, and this is precisely what knowledge attained through rational inquiry means. If it does not, then those beliefs are merely beliefs based on imitation and therefore carry no weight, for similar beliefs may be found among practitioners of spiritual discipline who uphold falsehood, whether Jews, Christians, or the Dahriyya.”