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except for the inspirations received from the source
of divine revelation.
His words rose from the heart, and they were nothing
but heavenly inspirations sent to him by Great God.
In the Qur'an God has praised him and spoken well of
his character, and said:
"And most surely you conform yourself to sublime
morality."(1)
Therefore what has
come from these two valid sources must be a clear and
absolute truth into which. doubt or ambiguity cannot
find its way, whereas anything that has not been derived
from those two sources is exposed to evaluation and
criticism, and is subject to changes and modifications,
and also to the estimation of its beauty and ugliness.
An alert and clear-sighted reader may have understood
our purpose in quoting the words of that exalted companion
of the Prophet who began his remarks with such wise
phrases. In his description of the ways of religion
and the sacred laws of Islam, he draws the attention
of the listener directly to the Book of God and His
prophet's tradition, and advises him to follow those
two principles, namely a book about whose words, phrases,
and apparent form and arrangement all are unanimous
and have no differences, and a tradition and lifestyle
which have been handed down by the Prophet to chaste
and virtuous individuals namely men who had no intention
of attributing any falsehood or misconduct to the Prophet
of Islam.
Let
us know the truth and its supporters
Another point that we deduce from that sincere and wise
utterance is that these two sources are immune from
any questioning and safe from any criticism and alteration,
whereas everything else is subject to evaluation, and
about which a verdict is issued with the aid of intellect
and knowledge, and is subject to analysis and criticism,
in order to distinguish the difference between jewels
and shells, and right and wrong. On this course, we
have no fear in facing other sources and their authors
even if they may possess a high rank in the Islamic
society and dignity among the people and
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