But those among them who are astray and hypocritical—who justify dispensing with the Messenger through their spiritual unveiling or direct witnessing, or opposing him by virtue of some special prerogative that sets them apart from all other believers—are in this respect like many speculative theologians. These imagine that rational proofs enable them to dispense with the Messenger, and that their rational deductions lead them to conclusions contrary to what the Messenger has conveyed. This heresy and hypocrisy in both groups is also found among the philosophers, the Bātinī esotericists, and similar groups known for hypocrisy.
As for his statement:
“From this standpoint, the revealed Law called people to this path and encouraged it among the things it encouraged—I mean practice—not because it is sufficient in itself, as those people imagined. Rather, if it benefits theoretical inquiry, it does so in the manner we have stated.”
The response is: the Lawgiver did not command deeds merely because they help rational inquiry yield knowledge. This is only what these philosophers and similar proponents of falsehood imagine, believing that the ultimate human perfection to be sought consists in a person’s possessing knowledge. This is the height of