Second: even if dalīl were an instrument noun denoting something by means of which an action is performed, Allah Most High has said concerning His beloved servant, as His Prophet reported from Him:

“Through Me he hears, through Me he sees, through Me he understands, through Me he speaks, through Me he grasps, and through Me he moves.”

A Muslim also says, “I sought Allah’s help and held fast to Him.”

If created entities and attributes—everything that exists apart from Allah—can serve as evidence, whether living or not, and even what does not exist can serve as evidence, then it is all the more fitting and appropriate to draw inferences through the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining. Moreover, the wording of the transmitted supplication:

“O Guide of the bewildered, guide me to the path of the truthful, and make me one of Your righteous servants,”

implies that He is called dalīl because He guides His servants, not merely because inferences may be drawn through Him, as they may be drawn from entities, statements, and actions that have no intention of directing or guiding. Among His names is al-Hādī (the Guide), and al-Burhān (the Proof) has also been reported.

For this reason, one of them is reported to have said, “I came to know things through my Lord; I did not come to know my Lord through things.” Another said, “He is my guide to everything, even though everything—so that He may not punish me—is evidence of Him.”

Ibn ‘Abbās was asked, “Through what did you come to know your Lord?” He replied:

“Whoever seeks his religion through analogy will spend his life in confusion, departing from the proper path and travelling a crooked course. I came to know Him through what He made known about Himself, and I described Him as He described Himself.”

He thus stated that the heart’s knowledge was attained through Allah’s making Himself known, and this is the light of faith; and that the tongue’s description was attained through Allah’s speech, and this is the light of the Quran.