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So far as I could see none of the scholars of Islam had devoted thought
and attention to philosophy. None of the theologians engaged in discussion
with the philosophers, apart from obscure and scattered utterances so
plainly erroneous and inconsistent that no person of ordinary intelligence
would be deceived, much less one versed in the sciences.

I realized that to refute a system before understanding it and becoming
acquainted with its depths is to act blindly. I therefore set out in all
seriousness, to acquire a knowledge of philosophy from books and by


private study without the help of an instructor. I made progress towards
this aim during my hours of free time after teaching the religious sciences
and writing, for at this period I was burdened with the teaching and
instruction of three hundred students in Baghdad. By my solitary reading
Allah brought me in less than two years to a complete understanding of
the sciences of the philosophers. Thereafter I continued to constantly
reflect for nearly a year on what I had come to understand, going over it in