Introduction -- The Arabian desert -- The daunting idea of God -- Free will and determinism -- The Qur'an : created or eternal? -- From Wasil to Ibn Hanbal -- Early Islam : literacy, conflict, and expansion -- Speculative discourse : a style -- Discourse : in pursuit of the ultimate answers -- Law and morality -- Al-Ma'mun and the devils' banquets -- The language-logic debate -- Back to the human will, and language -- Expanding the view -- An interlude : caliph, imam and philosopher-king -- Philosophy and politics -- The philosophers' "frenzy" -- Back to wine and logic -- Motion and light -- The nature of truth -- Fardajan and beyond -- The cosmos -- Cosmic lights -- Fast forward -- Language and reason : the dilemma.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

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