whim and capricious desire; others were driven by love for their forefathers and ancestors and by the favourable opinion they held of them⦗1⦘. Some were impelled by the sheer familiarity of the religion in which they had been raised and to which their natures had become habituated, so that leaving it would have felt to them like a man tearing himself away from what is imprinted upon his very being⦗2⦘. You can observe how predominant this motive is among most human beings: they prefer the foods, drinks, clothes, dwellings, and even the creeds to which they are accustomed over things that are far superior and much more fitting. Still others were induced by blind imitation and ignorance⦗3⦘—these are the followers who possess no knowledge. And some were driven by fear: fear of losing something they loved, or of being struck by something they dreaded⦗4⦘.

Accordingly, we did not ascribe⦗5⦘ the unbelief of those two nations to that single motive alone.

Third, we have already shown that the communities who lived before them⦗6⦘ were more numerous and possessed sharper intellects, yet every one of them chose blindness over guidance and disbelief over faith after clear insight had dawned upon them. Thus these two nations have a long line of predecessors—indeed, they comprise the majority of mankind.

Fourth, ʿAbd Allah b. Salam and his kin⦗7⦘ only embraced Islam at a time of severe trial: the Muslims were few, weak, and in dire need, while the inhabitants of the earth were unanimous in their enmity toward them, and it was the Jews and the idol-worshippers who held power, weaponry, and armour.