He took this verse as evidence that the universe never changes—that the sun must forever rise and set—because, in his view, this is Allah’s unvarying habit. The reply is that the breaking of ordinary patterns (khawāriq al-ʿādāt) is, in general, a matter established by sense perception and actual observation. Besides, Allah has declared in many passages that He did not create the world for play or in vain, but rather for requital; and this belongs to His beautiful way: He requites people for their deeds in the Hereafter, just as He has informed us of His granting victory to His friends and His punishing of His enemies. The resurrection of mankind for judgment, then, is part of this very sunnah. He never said that every habit is immune to rupture; rather, He spoke only of that sunnah that represents the consequences of human actions—His rewarding His allies and giving them victory over their foes. This is the sunnah about which He said no alteration or deviation will ever be found, as in His words:

“Are they waiting for anything but the pattern of the former peoples? You will never find any change in Allah’s way, and you will never find any deviation in Allah’s way.” (Fāṭir 35:43)

The reason is that what we call habit depends on the will of the agent, and the will of the All-Wise Agent is itself wise: it treats identical cases alike. Hence, in this sunnah—honoring His faithful servants, aiding His messengers, and granting victory to the believers over the deniers—there will be no alteration or deviation, for His wisdom requires it and therefore it is never broken. By contrast, whatever His wisdom requires Him to change, He changes; that change itself proceeds from wisdom and from His way that knows no alteration or deviation.

These verses, moreover, refute those who imagine that Allah acts by a sheer will that prefers one of two identical options without any determinant; such people acknowledge neither an immutable sunnah for Him nor an intended wisdom. That position contradicts both the revealed texts and sound reason, for the sunnah demands uniformity among particulars: the ruling given to one instance applies equally to its counterpart. Their claim is thus at odds with both scripture and intellect.

Reports transmitted through tawātur from the prophets are far weightier than those transmitted from the philosophers.

Our present concern is with the philosophers. It is well known that some of their devils allege that multiply transmitted reports (mutawātirāt) do not furnish proof against an opponent, so that they may include in that dismissal what has reached us with tawātur from the prophets—peace be upon them—of the signs, proofs, and miracles with which they were sent, just as