and once it is established that reason does not confer messengership and prophethood, but that these are distinctions Allah bestows upon them, the same applies to knowing Allah and believing in Him: reason has no part in this. Reason is merely a prerequisite for moral responsibility and for being addressed by revealed law, just as life and existence are.”
His father, Abū al-Faraj, said:
“One of our companions said: ‘Allah is known through the light of guidance.’ Another said: ‘He made Himself known to us through His self-disclosure.’ Both statements mean the same thing.”
He said:
“This has been related from a number of the righteous early generations. One of them was asked: ‘Did you come to know Allah through Muhammad, or did you come to know Allah through Him?’ He replied: ‘I came to know Allah through Him, and I came to know Muhammad through Allah. Had I come to know Allah through Muhammad, the favor would have come from Muhammad rather than Allah.’”
I say:
This approach can serve as a rebuttal to the Qadariyyah among the Muʿtazilah and others like them, who say that whatever knowledge or action results from a person’s choice is brought about by that person himself, without Allah’s assistance, and that he has guidance which Allah has facilitated for him and granted specifically to him, rather than to the unbeliever.
Rather, they regard the believer and the unbeliever as equal with respect to the means of guidance Allah has provided for them: He sent the Messenger to both, created in each the capacity to believe, and removed the impediments for each.
Indeed, they say that He must provide each of them with every assistance within His power through which that person would believe voluntarily, thus doing what is best for his religion; and that there is nothing within His power through which a person would believe voluntarily. Yet the believers—such as Abū Bakr and ʿAlī—believed by themselves, and the unbelievers—such as Abū Lahab and Abū Jahl—disbelieved by themselves, without Allah singling out the believer for means that bring about his faith.
This is why people have said to them: “If that is so, and the two are equal in the means of attaining faith, why, then, was one of them singled out