such an attribute; yet that in itself does not negate it. You are not entitled to deny it without proof, for the burden of evidence rests upon the one who negates just as it does upon the one who affirms. Revelation has affirmed it, and no sound rational or scriptural argument opposes it; therefore, whatever is established by evidence unchallenged by a counter-proof must be accepted.

Second: it may be said that the very same rational method you employed to confirm those attributes can be used to confirm these. Acts of beneficence that bring advantage to the servants point to mercy, just as specification points to will; honoring the obedient points to His love for them, and the punishment of the unbelievers points to His hatred of them. This is borne out both by observation and by transmitted reports of His honoring His allies and punishing His enemies. In the same way, the praiseworthy ends realized through His actions and His commands—the wholesome consequences to which His deeds and injunctions ultimately lead—attest to His all-encompassing wisdom even more clearly than specification attests to will, for the causal force of an end purpose is the stronger. For this reason, the Quran’s exposition of