بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the name of Allāh, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ الرَّازِيُّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : قَدْ قَدَّمْنَا فِي صَدْرِ هَذَا الْكِتَابِ مُقَدِّمَةً تَشْتَمِلُ عَلَى ذِكْرِ جُمَلٍ مِمَّا لَا يَسَعُ جَهْلُهُ مِنْ أُصُولِ التَّوْحِيدِ ، وَتَوْطِئَةً لِمَا يُحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ مَعْرِفَةِ طُرُقِ اسْتِنْبَاطِ مَعَانِي الْقُرْآنِ وَاسْتِخْرَاجِ دَلَائِلِهِ وَأَحْكَامِ أَلْفَاظِهِ ، وَمَا تَتَصَرَّفُ عَلَيْهِ أَنْحَاءُ كَلَامِ الْعَرَبِ وَالْأَسْمَاءُ اللُّغَوِيَّةُ وَالْعِبَارَاتُ الشَّرْعِيَّةُ؛ إِذْ كَانَ أَوْلَى الْعُلُومِ بِالتَّقْدِيمِ مَعْرِفَةَ تَوْحِيدِ اللَّهِ وَتَنْزِيهِهِ عَنْ شِبْهِ خَلْقِهِ وَعَمَّا نَحَلَهُ الْمُفْتَرُونَ مِنْ ظُلْمِ عَبِيدِهِ، وَالْآنَ حَتَّى انْتَهَى بِنَا الْقَوْلُ إِلَى ذِكْرِ أَحْكَامِ الْقُرْآنِ وَدَلَائِلِهِ .
Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī al-Rāzī, may Allāh be pleased with him, said: We have presented at the forefront of this book an introduction that includes the mention of a number of matters from the principles of monotheism (Tawḥīd) of which ignorance is not permissible, and a preamble for what is needed of the knowledge of the methods of deriving the meanings of the Qur’ān and extracting its indications and the rulings of its wordings, and the ways in which the speech of the Arabs, the linguistic nouns, and the legal expressions are employed; since the most worthy of the sciences to be presented first is the knowledge of the monotheism of Allāh and His being free from resemblance to His creation and from what the fabricators have falsely attributed to Him of injustice to His servants. And now, our discourse has brought us to the mention of the rulings of the Qur’ān and its indications.
وَاللَّهَ نَسْأَلُ التَّوْفِيقَ لِمَا يُقَرِّبُنَا إِلَيْهِ وَيُزَلِّفُنَا لَدَيْهِ، إِنَّهُ وَلِيُّ ذَلِكَ وَالْقَادِرُ عَلَيْهِ .
And we ask Allāh for success in what brings us near to Him and makes us close to Him. Indeed, He is the Master of that and the One Able to do it.