The truest speech is the speech of Allah, who says:

“The blind and the seeing are not equal.”
[ Fātir: 19 ]

And He says:

“Say, ‘Are those who know equal to those who do not know?’”
[al-Zumar: 9]

Reason plainly establishes that one who sees is more perfect than one who is blind, and one who knows is more perfect than one who is ignorant.

Their teacher, Aristotle, claimed that, for Him—glorified is He—not knowing and not seeing are better than knowing and seeing. These men disagreed with their teacher, found this statement of his objectionable, and affirmed that, when He sees and knows, He possesses something distinguishing His state from His state when He neither sees nor knows. Thus, their teacher preferred the ignorant and blind over the knowledgeable and seeing, whereas these men are committed to treating the two as equal.

It may also be said to him: You say, “His knowledge of Himself consists in His being a light to Himself and manifest to Himself, and His knowledge of things consists in their being manifest to Him.” If, by “His being a light to Himself and manifest to Himself,” you mean His being seen by Himself and known to Himself, then your statement really amounts to this: His knowledge of Himself consists in His being known to Himself. This is something already understood; it adds nothing to what is conveyed by our saying, “He knows Himself.”

If, however, you mean that His knowledge of Himself consists in His being such, in Himself, as to be manifest to Himself—a light revealing itself to Him—then the meaning is that His knowledge of Himself means that