nor can they restore the four birds to life after their limbs have been scattered, bring down the Table Spread, or perform the other marvels that have been mentioned.

Second, one must not imagine that this—namely, the inner faculties they describe—is the very substance of prophethood, or that whoever acquires these traits automatically becomes a prophet. Many ordinary believers possess these three qualities, and sometimes even more refined forms of them: an intellectual power within themselves, a practical power that enables them to influence others, and an inner perception through which they see and hear inwardly—yet they remain simple believers. Whoever sets these as the definition and ultimate limit of prophethood invalidates the truth and denies what Allah has exclusively bestowed upon His messengers.

The point, then, is that the virtues they ascribe to the prophets are not to be rejected if they are genuine; what is false is restricting prophethood to that level and claiming that such traits are the real cause of the prophets’ miracles.

Third, understand that prophethood is not attained through human acquisition and preparedness in the way that acquired sciences or learned aspects of religion are attained. These people have not accorded Allah His proper due, nor have they esteemed the prophets as they should. They imagine that when a person is fully disposed to purify and reform his soul, knowledge will overflow upon him from the “Active Intellect,” just as sunlight pours onto a polished mirror when it is burnished and set before the sun. In their view, the advent of prophethood is not something Allah brings about by His will and power; rather, the emanation simply reaches the receptive soul the way light strikes a smooth surface. Consequently, many of them began to seek prophethood—just as is reported about a group of the ancient Greeks, and as also occurs with certain people in the era of Islam.