cate public opinion. In consequence of this and basing my view on it, it is my wish that a Qur'anic commentary should be written through consultation, by setting up an assembly of deputies elected from among authoritative scholars, each a specialist in one of the physical sciences (fen), under the chairmanship of time, the supreme interpreter. They should collect together in this commentary in order to gild and emend it, the best points and virtues scattered through other commentaries. Yes, this is the time of constitutionalism; mutual consultation governs in everything. Public opinion is the watchman. The validity of the agreed opinions among the scholars (icma-ı ümmet) is proof of this.
The Fourth Premise
The Fourth Premise
Fame ascribes to man what is not his. It is like this: it is a human characteristic to ascribe something unusual or precious together with similar things to the person who gains fame through them in order to draw attention to his excellence. In order to gain acceptance for their ideas, or not to have them denied, or for some other purpose, people despotically and wrongfully see in one person the ideas and virtues of a nation and their results, and they think of them as originating from him. He, however, will reject their tyrannical gift. For a person who is famous for some fine attribute or elevated art will reject something unjustly ascribed to his art-loving view, the mark of which is to see beneath the surface, for if it is presented as his own work, it will mar the beauty arising from the proportion and balance of his art. He will decline it and avoid it, exclaiming: "God forbid!"
In consequence of this characteristic and in accordance with the well-known rule "If something is established, it is established together with its corollaries," in order to set in order the things they imagine in the famous person, people are obliged to ascribe to him extraordinary attributes such as great power, eminence, and intelligence so that he can be a source of assistance for all his followers. He is thus embodied in their minds as a marvel. If you like, think of