we have identified in revelation concerning the world’s existence has been upheld by a group of philosophers?”

He said: “It seems that those who differ over the interpretation of these difficult questions are either correct and rewarded, or mistaken and excused. For assent to something is a kind of generation occurring within the soul; it is involuntary, not a matter of choice. I mean that we cannot choose whether to withhold or give assent as we can choose whether to stand or not. If choice is a prerequisite for moral responsibility, then someone who assents to an error because of a misconception that has arisen is excused, provided he is a scholar. Hence his saying, peace be upon him: ‘If a judge exercises independent judgment and reaches the correct conclusion, he receives two rewards; if he exercises independent judgment and errs, he receives one reward.’ And what judge