it is found to contain no knowledge of anything existing in external reality. Rather, they have conceived things posited in their minds that have no reality outside them. Thus, the ultimate outcome of their inquiry, and the culmination of their philosophy and wisdom, is absolute, universal existence, and existence conditioned upon the negation of all positive realities. The point is that, in demonstrative inquiries and rational matters, they often advance claims concerning things they have merely posited in their minds.

They say, “We are discussing universals and purely rational matters.” When something is mentioned to them, they say, “We are discussing something more general than that, and reality considered in itself,” and similar expressions. They are then challenged to establish the external reality of what they have described and are asked, “Explain what exactly this is.” At that point, their ignorance becomes apparent: what they speak of is something posited in the mind, with no reality among actually existing things.

For example, they may be told, “Give an example of that.” An example is a particular instance. If they cannot provide an example and say, “We are discussing universals,” then know that they are speaking without knowledge. They are speaking about matters which they do not know to have any corresponding object in external reality—indeed, about matters which have no corresponding object in external reality, and matters which cannot possibly have one. For when knowledge of existing things is universal, the objects of that knowledge do exist in external reality.

Al-Khusrawshāhī was one of their leading figures and one of al-Rāzī’s foremost associates. He used to say, “All we have found are these universals.” He had fallen into such perplexity and doubt that he would say, “By Allah, I do not know what to believe! By Allah, I do not know what to believe!”