Abū ‘Abd Allāh Ibn al-Khatīb wrote on this matter in his foremost work on speculative theology, which he entitled Nihāyat al-‘Uqūl fī Dirāyat al-Usūl (The Culmination of Intellects in Understanding the Fundamentals). He stated that he included in it truths and subtle insights scarcely found in any works of earlier or later authors, predecessors or successors, whether they agreed or disagreed with him, and described it at considerable length.

He said:

“All this can be appreciated only by someone who has already mastered most of what the scholars have said and has gained a firm grasp of the main lines of inquiry pursued by rational thinkers—those who uphold the truth and those who uphold falsehood, those who agree and those who disagree.”

He said:

“For I rarely