The Message or A Cry of Anguish — Page 3
THE MESSAGE OR A CRY OF ANGUISH 3 most people who engage in religious debates possess little knowl- edge of theological sciences and verities, and their intentions also seem dubious when they take up writing. Hence, their writings remain devoid of acceptance and blessings. The present age is one in which if a person, who intends to engage in religious debates or wishes to produce books in refutation of the opponents, must fulfil the following conditions: FIRST [CONDITION]—He must be firmly grounded in knowl- edge of the Arabic language so that if he happens to be engaged in a linguistic debate over a word he must be able to convince and humble his opponent by the depth of his linguistic knowledge. Moreover, if he produces an Arabic work he must be superior to his rival in terms of the eloquence in his expression, and with his formidable linguistic skill must convince his opponent that in understanding the word of God Almighty, he, in fact, has greater knowledge than him. Additionally, his unique and matchless mas- tery in the Arabic language must be a well-known fact in his coun- try. Previous Islamic debates show that sometimes etymological debates occur, and authentic experience testifies that definite and conclusive determination of the meaning of Arabic texts depends a great deal on the knowledge of its linguistic roots and com- pounds. One who is ignorant of the Arabic language and unac- quainted with the research methodology of linguistics is not wor- thy to enter into such extremely intricate and significant debates, and neither is his discourse worthy of credence. The worth and prestige of any discourse that is presented to the public is deter- mined by the dignity and stature of the speaker. If the speaker's command over the language is not unreservedly acknowledged by