For if every seeker of knowledge had already attained that knowledge when seeking it, he would not be seeking it. He may know that the path he follows will lead him to knowledge. But the question concerns the first of all starting points, the proof underlying all proofs, and the foundation of all foundations.

If, when examining a proof, he already knows that it leads to its conclusion, this is only possible once he knows its connection to that conclusion. For unless a proof entails its conclusion, it is not a proof. Knowledge of entailment depends upon knowledge of both what entails and what is entailed. Thus, he cannot know that something is proof of a particular conclusion until he knows that this particular conclusion holds and that the proof entails it. Once he knows this, he no longer needs to use that proof to establish the conclusion; it serves only to remind him of it, not to give him knowledge of it for the first time.

Confusion arises here because a person often knows that something exists, then seeks a way to know its attributes and directly witness the thing itself, either through the senses or through the heart. He therefore follows a path that he knows will lead to his goal, because he already knows that this path necessarily leads to that goal, whose existence he had known beforehand.

This is like someone who wishes to make pilgrimage to the Kaaba, which he already knows exists. He follows a route that he knows leads to the Kaaba because people have told him so, or he takes as his guide someone whom he knows to be familiar with that route. Whether he follows the route himself, having learned from those who have reached the destination that it leads to his goal, or travels with an expert guide—who directs him at every stage—he does so only after knowing that his goal exists and that the route and guide are indeed such.

Such is also the case with those seeking knowledge of Allah, those who desire Him, and those journeying towards Him: they have first come to know His existence