manufactured objects whose manufacture he understands in part, along with the wisdom embodied in them. There is no doubt that a scholar with this understanding of manufactured objects knows more about the maker as a maker than someone who knows nothing about those objects beyond the fact that they are manufactured. As for the eternalists, who deny the Maker, glorified and exalted is He, they are like someone who perceives manufactured objects but does not acknowledge that they are manufactured, instead attributing the craftsmanship he sees in them to chance and spontaneous occurrence.”

I say:

His account of these two kinds of argument is sound and good overall, although certain points within it fall short, such as his discussion of the evidentiary force of the celestial sphere’s motion, his interpretation of the verse, the creatures’ glorification of Allah, and Abraham’s reasoning. The argument from origination and creation establishes Allah’s lordship, while the argument from wisdom, providence, and mercy establishes His mercy.

Allah opened His Noble Book with the words:

“All praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds (2), the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful (3).” [al-Fātihah: 2–3]

This is better than the approach of the speculative theologians—the method based on accidents—even though he did not fully examine the evidence establishing the existence of the Maker, exalted is He, or discuss in detail the origination of substances and other matters.