The Error of Political Islam

theology, and language studies. It was one o’clock in the afternoon; the library’s main doors were closed, and everyone had left for the midday break. Alone in this quiet room, I stood between books. Due to continuous study, I felt utterly drained, as though every drop of blood had been drained from my body. I picked up a volume of Tafsir Ibn Jarir, intending to put it back on the shelf and fetch another book. But as I stood up, weakness made me dizzy, and I momentarily lost my sense of direction. Though I knew this room well, for a moment, I stood there unable to determine which way to go or which shelf to approach. After a brief pause, I regained my composure and remembered where the relevant shelf was. After regaining my composure after this experience, it felt as though I had journeyed a great distance in discussing this ideology with the scholars of the past, and I was exhausted from this journey. Yet, despite my exhaustion, I felt satisfaction in knowing that I understood their viewpoint and was now in a position to refute this interpretation with complete confidence. It seemed as though these shelves and the books within them represented the spirits of our predecessors, standing behind me, as I set forth, with my trembling hands and faltering steps, to defend them. This thought filled me with such joy that my exhaustion Preface to the FIRST Edition