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.