[p. viii] 3 | The purpose of a narration1
has to be a thorough investigation into life and depicting/portraying it in a faithful and reliable manner, [exactly] as it appears to us [i.e., as we see it]; [it also has to be] the collection of observations and evidence2
about the human being
1. riwāyaẗ ‘telling a story’ almost has the meaning of ‘reporting’ here; cf. also above. 2. mustanadāt ‘documents to rely on’.