[Ibn Taymiyyah’s Commentary]

I say: He and a group who share his view think that the pronoun in His words,

“until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth”
Fussilat 53,

refers to Allah, Most High. They say that this verse combines the approach of those who infer the Creator from creation with that of those who infer creation from the Creator.

The correct view, held by the exegetes and indicated by the verse itself, is that the pronoun refers to the Quran. Allah shows His servants signs on the horizons and within themselves that make clear to them that the Quran is true. This entails establishing the truth of the Messenger’s mission and accepting what he has reported, as Allah, Most High, says:

“Say, ‘Have you considered: if it is from Allah and you then disbelieve in it, who could be further astray than someone in extreme opposition?’ * We will show them Our signs on the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth.”
Fussilat 52 53.

The purpose here is to point out that an individual’s need for knowledge does not depend on knowing that everyone like him shares that need, or on establishing this through syllogistic and analogical reasoning.

Moreover, a need that is both known and directly felt makes a greater impression on the soul than knowledge unaccompanied by such experience.

Thus, people’s knowledge of what they love and dislike, and what benefits and harms them, is more deeply rooted in their souls than their knowledge of what they do not need and neither dislike nor love. Hence, what is known of the circumstances of the messengers and their peoples