First Problem: the Creation of the Universe:--The Law teaches that the
universe was invented and created by God, and that it did not come
into being by chance or by itself. The method adopted by the Law for
proving this is not the one upon which the Asharites have depended.
For we have already shown that those methods are not specially certain
for the learned, nor common enough to satisfy all the classes of men.
The methods which are really serviceable are those which have a very
few premises, and the results of which fall very near to the commonly
known ideas. But in instructing the common people the Law does not
favour statements composed of long and complete reasonings, based
upon different problems, So everyone who, in teaching them, adopts a
different course, and interprets the Law according to it, has lost
sight of its purpose and gone astray from the true path. And so also,
the Law in giving illustrations for its reasonings uses only those
which are present before us. Whatever has been thought necessary for
the common people to know, has been explained to them by the nearest
available examples, as in the case of the Day of Judgment. But whatever
was unnecessary for them to know, they have been told that it was
beyond their knowledge, as the words of God about the Soul.[91] Now
that we have established this, it is necessary that the method adopted
by the Law for teaching the creation of the universe to the common
people be such as would be acknowledged by all. It is also necessary
that since there cannot be found anything present to illustrate the
creation of the universe the Law must have used the examples of the
creation of things in the visible world.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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