both necessary in itself and not necessary, existent and non-existent—a union of two mutually exclusive opposites.
This, then, is one of the ways by which we know the falsity of the anthropomorphists who say, “A sight like my sight, a hand like my hand,” and the like; exalted is God far above what they allege.
[Result of this principle]
Our purpose here is not to itemize in full what must be affirmed of Him and what He must be declared free of, nor to spell out every pathway to that knowledge, for such detail is presented elsewhere. Rather, we wish only to highlight the major principles and their avenues. As for matters about which the revealed texts are silent—neither affirming nor denying—and for which the intellect offers no decisive judgment, we likewise remain silent, affirming nothing and denying nothing. Thus we affirm whatever we have learned to be affirmed, we deny whatever we have learned to be denied, and we withhold judgment concerning what we do not know to affirm or deny. Allah knows best.
[Seventh Principle – Reason’s testimony to much of what revelation affirms]
The seventh principle states that much of what revelation establishes is also ascertainable by reason, and that the Quran sets forth the proofs to which reason may appeal and guides the mind toward them,