Thus, the very position whose proponents those men reported Muslims unanimously declaring unbelievers is one that he himself reports Muslims unanimously affirming. This is what he established in Nihāyat al-‘uqūl fī ‘ilm al-usūl, which he composed after the present book. At its beginning, he states that the science of the foundations of religion is the greatest and noblest of sciences, the highest and most far-reaching. He says:

“Then, after a group of distinguished men—the like of whom are found only at widely separated times and in rare ages—had long urged me and repeatedly pressed me to compose a book on the foundations of religion encompassing the furthest reaches of rational thought and the ultimate conclusions of scholarly inquiry, I composed this book, with the help of Allah Most High, in accordance with their request. I included in it subtle insights and truths scarcely to be found in any of the books of earlier or later authors, predecessors or successors, among those who share my views