and both truth and falsehood. This is ignorance and a refusal to know the truth and speak it.

The whole position rests upon the claim that Allah cannot be known, mentioned, glorified, or worshipped. This is a form of sophistry, for sophistry includes the denial of truth, the denial that truth can be known, and feigned ignorance coupled with a refusal either to affirm or deny it.

[ADHERENTS OF THIS DOCTRINE]

They are called the agnostics (1) because they say, “We do not know” (2).

Thus Pharaoh said:

“‘And what is the Lord of the worlds?’”

[Surah al-Shu'arā': 23]

He feigned ignorance, pretending that he did not know Him and that He was unknown and could not be known. Moses therefore addressed him with words that made clear that He is too well known to be denied and too great to be disavowed (3). He said:

“‘The Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them, if you would only be certain.’ Pharaoh said to those around him, ‘Do you not hear?’ Moses said, ‘Your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers.’”

[Surah al-Shu'arā': 24–26]

Likewise, the messengers said to those among their peoples who declared:

“‘We reject what you have been sent with, and we are indeed in grave doubt about that to which you call us.’ Their messengers said, ‘Can there be any doubt about Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth? He calls you so that He may forgive you some of your sins.’”

[Surah Ibrāhīm: 9–10]

There are many other examples of this. This subject has been treated at length in its proper place, but we have drawn attention to it here because it bears directly upon the present discussion.

The point here is that if we admit that temporal events may occur without a temporally originated cause, it becomes impossible to maintain that the universe is eternal, just as we shall demonstrate that this is also impossible if one holds that the occurrence of