created the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them in six days—no one can produce a sound rational proof denying this.

As for the arguments employed by the theologians to refute these philosophers and others, some are correct and some mistaken; some accord with revelation and reason, while others contradict them. In any event, the theologians are more proficient in rational inquiry, disputation, and the true universal sciences; more knowledgeable about intelligible matters pertaining to metaphysics (1); and more often correct and sounder in their assertions than these philosophers. The philosophers, however, are more proficient in natural philosophy and mathematics (2) than those who have not attained their level of knowledge in these fields, notwithstanding the errors they contain.

The point here is to address the philosophers’ leading authorities and accomplished experts—those whose intellects and knowledge of metaphysics have risen above the discourse of Aristotle and his followers, and that of Ibn Sīnā and his peers—and ask them: What, in the first place, warrants your assertion that anything in the universe is eternal when you have no proof for the eternity of any such thing?

The very foundation of philosophy, according to you, rests upon fairness and adherence to knowledge (3). A philosopher is a lover of wisdom, and philosophy is the love of wisdom. Yet if you examine everything said by everyone who has addressed this subject or any other, you will find nothing that establishes the eternity of anything in the universe. You know, moreover, that most people throughout the world, across all communities, maintain that everything other than Allah is created and came into being after not existing. This is the position of the messengers and their followers among the Muslims, Jews, Christians, and others.