Had human sentiment (wijdan) been truly free...

Had human sentiment (wijdan) been truly free, the simplest means of proof of the existence of the wise Creator would have sufficed. Were they created out of nothing, or are they the creators ?[^2] For the last two centuries, modern thought has not allowed human sentiment to remain liberated and pure.

Hence the need for proof was made all the more imperative for those who have obtained some knowledge of modern thought and its special methods of investigation, in order for those gaps to be filled which simple obvious proofs would have filled had human sentiment been left unfettered. I had before me two choices: the first was to write for those who still live with a free sentiment, untouched by the demands of modern thought, and thus require only simple arguments.

In that case, the idiom would be clear to the readers of the entire work, that is, al-Fatawa al-wadihah and the introduction to it. The second choice was to write for those who have come into contact with modern thought and have, to a greater or lesser degree, accepted its framework and attitudes with regard to theology. I decided that the second choice was more suitable.

Nevertheless, I endeavoured to be generally clear in what I wrote, bearing in mind the average university student as well as the reader of higher educational achievements. I have, as much as possible, avoided complicated terminology and the language of mathematics. I also avoided complex expositions.

At the same time, I took into consideration the capacity for comprehension and retention of the more serious student, in that I have presented points of special significance with brevity, and have referred him to other of my works for greater depth, such as The Logical Principles of Induction (al-Usus al-mantiqiyyah l'i-istiqra'). We likewise endeavoured to enable the less accomplished reader to find in the parts of the introduction a good source of clear ideas and convincing evidence.

The first step in the scientific inductive argument for the existence of the Creator may be considered in itself sufficient on a general level. We shall first discuss the Revealer, then the messenger and finally the message. Success comes from God; on Him I rely and to Him I turn for help. [^1]: See Qur'an, 22:107. (Translator's footnote) [^2]: Qur'an, 52:35. All Qur'anic translations are those of the translator. Previous…