from those circles with what he had inherited from earlier thinkers, and thus he produced a philosophical discourse woven from the words of his predecessors and from his own innovations. This is evident in his treatment of prophethood, the hidden meanings of Qur’anic verses and of dreams, certain portions of physics and logic, and, most famously, in his doctrine of the Necessary Existent.

Aristotle and his followers, by contrast, never speak of a “Necessary Existent,” nor do they address any of the rulings that pertain to such a Being. Rather, they mention only the “First Cause,” affirming it solely as the final cause of celestial motion—the heavens, they say, move in order to emulate it.

Ibn Sīnā therefore repaired part of that corrupt philosophy, making it palatable to speculative students who lacked real knowledge of Islam. Some of these students began to notice its contradictions and aired objections according to whatever insight each possessed. Yet they conceded to the philosophers a set of flawed principles in logic, physics, and metaphysics, unaware of the falsehood embedded within. This led them astray in lofty matters of faith and in noble Qur’anic aims, so that they departed from the essence of knowledge and belief. In many such issues they neither hear nor understand: they practice sheer sophistry in rational inquiries and indulge in esoteric distortion when dealing with transmitted texts.

The point here is to note that—even supposing, for argument’s sake, that the soul were perfected by knowledge alone as they claim (a claim that is in fact false)—the soul possesses two powers: a theoretical cognitive power and a volitional practical power, and both can be perfected only through knowledge of God and His worship.

Worship combines love for Him with humble submission to Him, and no soul is ever perfected except through the worship of God alone.