[Preface]

The Book of Refutation of the Logicians
by Imām Ibn Taymiyyah

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate.
O Lord, make it easy and grant aid.

Our shaykh, the eminent scholar, Shaykh al-Islām Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad, son of the eminent scholar, legal authority of the communities, Shihāb al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm, son of the eminent scholar, legal authority of the communities, Majd al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Salām Ibn Taymiyyah, said:

All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is no deity but Allah, alone without partner, and I testify that Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah bless him, his family, and grant them peace in abundance.

To proceed:

I have always believed that Greek logic is unnecessary for the quick-witted and of no benefit to the dull-witted. Nevertheless, I had assumed its propositions to be sound, because I found many of them to be true. Later, however, I discovered that a number of those propositions are erroneous, and I committed some observations on the matter to writing. While I was in Alexandria I met someone who exalted the philosophers with grandiose speech and blind imitation, so I pointed out to him the ignorance and misguidance they merit. This occasioned my writing—during a single sitting between the noon and afternoon prayers—some remarks on logic that I recorded on the spot. I then reviewed and expanded them in subsequent gatherings until the work reached its completion.