so whatever the truthful and trustworthy one (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) has reported is true in reality, whether we know it to be true or not.

Whomever Allah Most High has sent to mankind is His Messenger, whether people know that he is a Messenger or not. Whatever he reports is true, even if people do not believe him. Whatever he commands on Allah’s behalf, Allah has commanded, even if people do not obey him. Thus, the reality of messengership itself, the truthfulness of the Messenger, and the objective truth of what he reports do not depend on our existence, much less on our reason or on the proofs we apprehend through reason.

Likewise, the existence of the Lord Most High and the names and attributes that rightfully belong to Him are established in reality, whether we know them or not.

This makes clear that reason is not the foundation of revelation’s reality in itself. Nor does reason impart to revelation any quality it did not already possess or confer any perfection upon it. For knowledge conforms to its object, which is independent of that knowledge; it follows its object and does not affect it.

Knowledge is of two kinds:

The first is practical knowledge, which is a condition for its object to come into being, such as our conception of what we intend to do. Here, the object of knowledge depends on our knowledge of it and requires it.

The second is descriptive, theoretical knowledge, whose object does not depend for its existence on being known. Examples include our knowledge of Allah Most High’s oneness, His names and attributes, the truthfulness of His messengers, and His angels, His books, and other such matters. These realities are established whether we know them or not, and are therefore independent of our knowledge of them. Revelation, in its relation to reason, belongs to this category, for the revelation that has been sent down