and like those about whom He has said: ﴿صُمٌّ بُكْمٌ عُمْيٌ فَهُمْ لَا يَرْجِعُونَ﴾[1]; “They are deaf, dumb, and blind, so they will not return.”

I have spoken with many of them; they do not conceive of any good outside of what they have known and assume that there is no truth beyond what they have attained. However, what they have known is often based on conjecture, and what they have attained is largely uncertain. This means that its falsity is probable, and therefore, being dogmatic about it is not reasonable.

This situation is more pronounced in some Muslim countries that are composed of diverse ethnicities or sects and are less developed. As an example, in Afghanistan, ethnic and sectarian fanaticism, in the shadow of the diversity of ethnicities and sects, is such that there is no ground for the realization of peace, and establishing or maintaining a unified government is difficult. This has turned the Muslims of that country into a people afflicted by calamity.

As a result, only those who are not fanatical about their ethnicity, sect, or group, do not treat their conjectural beliefs as they treat their certain beliefs, and have the capacity to reconsider them and, accordingly, abandon them if they conflict with the truth, are able to know the truth.

6. Arrogance

Another impediment to knowing is “arrogance” in the sense of self-conceit, which manifests in believing oneself to be free from the need to know the truth and leads to a refusal to accept it; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿كَلَّا إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَيَطْغَى ۝ أَنْ رَآهُ اسْتَغْنَى﴾[2]; “No! Indeed, the human being transgresses, for he sees himself as self-sufficient.” This is because a person who believes himself to be greater than he is fails to realize his need for knowing and, accordingly, takes no action to attain it. He also perceives its attainment by someone else as contrary to his own greatness and does not accept it;