even though the ways of knowing the Maker—through innate disposition and self-evident knowledge, or through reflection and inference, considering entities themselves and their attributes—constitute a vast subject whose discussion does not belong here. Many [مـ] of those who turn away from the method based on accidents cite these two kinds of evidence found in the creation of man, or in the creation of things whose origination can be observed: origination, which points to an originator, and wisdom, which points to the Maker’s purpose. They also cite what indicates His mercy and favor.

We have already mentioned al-Khattābī’s disapproval of the method based on accidents and his statement that it is a prohibited innovation. Near the beginning of his book Shi‘ār al-Dīn (The Emblem of Religion), he said:

“On the knowledge of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, that is obligatory: The first obligation upon anyone subject to religious obligation is to know that the entire universe has a Maker, and that He is Allah, the One, who has no partner. In this matter, many ordinary Muslims have followed the customs of their upbringing and the circumstances of their birth. Their faith is thus acquired through instruction and upbringing: they are born in the lands of Islam, raised in Muslim households, and grow up in Muslim lands. They learn the declaration of Allah’s oneness from their fathers and mothers, hear the call to prayer from the callers, and receive