except through it—that an objector demanded proof that knowledge can be attained only through rational inquiry. Presenting his own position, he said: “Knowledge of things is acquired through either sense perception, reports, or rational inquiry. The first two cannot serve as means here, so rational inquiry is the only remaining possibility.”

Speaking on behalf of the objector, he said: “We do not concede that these three are the only means of acquiring knowledge. What is the proof of this? Moreover, we shall now set out another means: purifying the soul of bodily attachments and corporeal dispositions. Once it is free of these things, it comes to hold beliefs with certainty. This is the path of the Sufis and those who practise self-discipline, for they are certain of the beliefs they hold concerning