The Book of Reprobation

Some days ago, a person joined me at a gathering with our friend, Abū Sulaymān ibn Tarāqa, in which local people participated, and [the stranger] claimed that some people of his land disputed certain things that I affirmed in the Book of Criticism. He said also that they wanted to collect these in a book, were it not for the grace of God [and by] His kind acting in my defense [i.e., our meeting meant that the book of criticisms was not completed].

When I asked him to disclose these things to me, he claimed he did not remember more than a few words, which he mentioned at that time, and also what they said about these, letting me know that he approved of their opinion and preferred it to mine. When I requested the proofs, with the arguments [confirming them], in order to dissuade him from their mistake, he obstinately refused [to present these]. I thought that it would be inappropriate and repellant to leave this issue unresolved, for several reasons; for one thing, I should not leave these people in their mistake, and for another, the ignorant who hear their reasoning may err similarly. For this is one of the branches of knowledge, I mean, conjugation and forming words, that is very difficult even for those who are conversant in it—how much more so for the ignorant, who form ideas about it without mastering the premises that would help them and ease the way to it. It would enable them to master this issue, besides what we have mentioned, [if they used] analogy, although only a few people can do so well.

Another reason is that there was someone who rejected the opinion of my understanding, though I never claimed to be infallible or free from error, and especially when I found out how proud he was of having defeated me in that gathering.

Another reason is that I want to disapprove of their acts and to condemn their deeds, since they dedicated themselves to a discipline that they have not mastered and dared to engage in something they are incapable of accomplishing. This is the fruit of ignorance and the result of envy.

So I wrote to him, quoting our whole discussion at the gathering and detailing everything he said to me and everything I answered, word by word, and I was careful not to distort or alter anything. I continued this, answering all the issues I did not answer at that time [when we discussed this], the rest of those things that, according to his claim, they disputed. In that gathering, I had made him swear to do his best to collect in a book what they disputed and to send it to me. He promised it to me, but when my letter reached him, he sent his on another day, and he claimed that he had not read it, behaving rudely and ignoring me. But he excused himself, saying that he postponed assuming the [burden of] answering. In the letter he sent, he expressed his criticisms and, to argue against me, said, “I only said some words.” But I am sure that he has read my letter and when he saw there was no way to refute it, he denied [having read] it.