serious instance of ignorance to ascribe false Hadiths to persons like Ibn 'Abbas [^9] in order to encourage the common people to do what is right and to deter them from what is wrong. Yes, truth stands in need of nothing else, and reality is rich. The Hadiths' lights are sufficient to illuminate hearts. Sound Hadiths, the Qur'an's expounder, suffice us. And we are content with authentic histories which have been weighed up on the scales of logic.
[^9]:'Abdullāh b. 'Abbās b. 'Abd al-Muṭṭalib (d.68/687-8). First cousin and Companion of the Prophet Muhammad (UWBP), who narrated many Hadiths and is deemed an authority in Qur'anic interpretation (tafsir) and in fiqh.
The Fifth Premise
The Fifth Premise
If figures of speech (mecaz) fall into the hand of the ignorance from that of learning, they are taken literally and open the door to superstition. It is like this: whenever the dark left hand of ignorance seizes figures of speech and similes (teşbih) from the luminous right hand of knowledge, or when such figures are long-lived, they acquire a literal meaning and lose their freshness and translucence. While being a cordial they turn into vinegar, and though once fresh and comely they grow old and withered. Yes, it is the transparency of figurative language that allows the rays of reality to shine out from it. Once it is taken literally, it becomes opaque and obscures the original truth. Such a transformation is a natural law. If you want evidence for this, refer to the mysteries of the change and renewal of words, and their shared and synonymous meanings. If you listen carefully, you will hear the following:
Numerous words, tales, fantasies, and meanings which were to the taste of the people of early times have become old and vapid. Since they did not coincide with the childish caprices of the people of later times, they gave rise to the desire for renewal and the idea of invention, and bold desire for change. This rule governs in imaginings, meanings, and stories as it does in words. In which case, everything should not be judged according to its apparent