to people by their intellects, even though they may grasp its general outlines through reason.

This detailed exposition through which true faith is attained—and which the Book itself has brought—is affirmed by the Almighty’s words: “Thus We have revealed to you a Spirit of Our command. You did not know what the Book was, nor what faith was; yet We have made it a light by which We guide whom We will of Our servants” (Quran 42:52). He likewise says: “Say, ‘If I go astray, I stray only against myself; but if I am guided, it is through what my Lord reveals to me. Truly, He is All-Hearing, Ever Near’” (Quran 34:50), and: “Say, ‘I warn you only through revelation’” (Quran 21:45).

Yet one group imagined that “good” and “bad” possess some meaning other than this and that such meaning is known solely by reason; while another, opposing group thought that the goodness and badness established by the sacred law lie outside this framework. Thus, both of the factions that