what lies beyond this. If the opponent claims that the preceding kinds of knowledge arose—that is, were acquired—through reflection and inference, he is obstinately denying the obvious.

If he invokes Allah’s words concerning Abraham, His intimate friend:

“When the night covered him, he saw a star,”

through to His words:

“I am free of what you associate with Allah,”

then this is evidence against the opponent, not in his favour. For had Abraham attained knowledge through reflection and inference, he could not rightly have said, “I am free of what you associate with Allah,” when he had not yet brought his reflection and inference to completion. Only someone who knows his Lord would say, “I am free of what you associate with Allah,” and “I have turned my face.”

[Continuation of al-Basrī’s remarks and Ibn Taymiyyah’s comments]

Abraham acted thus only because of the sound guidance he had already received, of which the Lord informed us in His words:

“We had certainly granted Abraham his sound guidance before.”

By those words, he intended only to challenge his people and rebuke them, for they worshipped the sun, the moon and the stars besides Allah. He spoke as he did to express rejection, teaching them that whatever can set and change from one state to another cannot be a deity worthy of worship or a lord to be acknowledged as the One.

Rather, the true God is He who created you and endowed you with an innate disposition to know Him. He is the One whom Abraham spoke of when he said:

“I have turned my face towards Him who created the heavens and the earth.”

Although the verse takes the form of a statement, what is intended is a question.”