and the words of the Sufi shaykhs concerning the effect of righteous deeds in attaining knowledge. This man and others like him therefore supposed that the Sufis’ doctrine was as he described it. Yet matters are not as they claim. Rather, the Sufi shaykhs held in high regard within the Muslim community agree that one must acquire religious knowledge, ponder the Book of Allah Most High, and examine the signs and parables He presents therein. They also agree on examining and drawing lessons from the signs within creation. Indeed, they devote themselves to examining and reflecting upon the signs heard in revelation and those witnessed in creation far more single-mindedly than many theologians and jurists do. Their practice in this regard is too well known to those acquainted with it to require elaboration.

As for the claim that, in their view, merely abandoning desires and attaining complete detachment necessarily yields knowledge of realities—including knowledge of what the messengers brought—without examining or reflecting upon it, this is not the way of those held in high regard within the Muslim community. Their exhortations to acquire religious knowledge and adhere to it, both in foundational doctrines conveyed by revelation and in practice, are therefore too extensive to recount here.