Deliverance from Error

refashioned.” Determined to follow these paths and to search out these systems to the bottom, I proceeded with my investigations in the following order: Scholastic theology Kalam: a method of seeking Islamic theological principles through dialectic and argument; philosophical systems; and, finally Sufism The inner, mystical dimension of Islam.

THE AIM OF SCHOLASTIC THEOLOGY AND ITS RESULTS

Commencing with theological science, I carefully studied and meditated upon it. I read the writings of the authorities in this department and myself composed several treatises. I recognized that this science, while sufficing its own requirements, could not assist me in arriving at the desired goal. In short, its object is to preserve the purity of orthodox beliefs Sunni doctrine from all heretical innovation. God, by means of His Apostle The Prophet Muhammad, has revealed to His creatures a belief which is true as regards their temporal and eternal interests; the chief articles of it are laid down in the Koran and in the traditions Hadith: the recorded sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad. Subsequently, Satan suggested to innovators principles contrary to those of orthodoxy; they listened greedily to his suggestions, and the purity of the faith was menaced. God then raised up a school of theologians and inspired them with the desire to defend orthodoxy by means of a system of proofs adapted to unveil the devices of the heretics and to foil the attacks which they made on the doctrines established by tradition.