but rather proceed by a fortiori reasoning and arguments pointing to what holds with even greater force—is a noble principle of immense importance. Thus, the core of the rational methods employed by the speculative theologians belongs to this category, for their discourse contains both truth and falsehood.

For example, when they established through rational methods that He is All-Hearing and All-Seeing, Abū Abd Allāh al-Rāzī, the founder in question, presented their methods in his book Nihāyat al-ʿuqūl (The Furthest Reach of Reason), discussing the matter at considerable length. He then rejected these methods and explained their flaws, before saying: “Chapter Three: The Grounds on Which This Question Rests.” He presented a rational method and a scriptural method, saying:

“There are two methods on which to rely. The first is that mentioned by Imam al-Ghazālī, who said: ‘We know self-evidently that one who hears and sees is more perfect than one who does not. A person among us hears and sees; if the Creator were not likewise, it would follow that such a person was more perfect than the Creator. This is self-evidently false. We must therefore affirm with certainty that He is All-Hearing and All-Seeing.’”

He then raised objections to this method and explained their answers. Yet the argument can be formulated more cogently than he formulated it. Likewise, the well-known argument can be formulated: that He