a model to follow, and restraint from disobedience—He grants him further knowledge. Whenever he is sincere with the increase he has received, he is raised to a further increase.

He, glorified be He, said:

“If you are grateful, I will surely give you more; but if you are ungrateful, My punishment is indeed severe.”

I say:

What Abū Muhammad ibn ‘Abd and others have stated—that primary, innate knowledge arises without proof—is supported by the fact that something known through proof can only be known when one knows that the proof entails it, thereby serving as proof of it. Such is the nature of a sign or indication.

Likewise, a name signifies its referent only when it is known to be a name for it. This presupposes a conception of what is signified—the necessary consequent—and knowledge that the name entails it.

Hence it has been said that the purpose of speech is not to impart knowledge of simple meanings. A simple meaning cannot be understood from an expression until one knows that the expression signifies it. One must therefore know that this expression has been assigned to this meaning before one can recognize that it signifies it. Knowledge of the meaning thus precedes knowledge that the expression signifies it. A compound meaning is different: it requires only knowledge of the general kind of combination, not of the particular combination itself.

Thus, when it is said, “So-and-so stood,” we understand that he performed the act of standing that inheres in him. Then, when “Zayd” is specified, we understand that he performed the act of standing that inheres in him. This differs from knowing the referent of “Zayd,” for one does not know