What is the ruling on reading contemporary intellectual books?

The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. In truth, there is a very important topic I would like the Honorable Shaykh to shed light on. The events that have passed through us have shown that the youth are in great need of Prophetic upbringing, the upbringing of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and that they should drink deeply from the Book of Allah the Exalted and from the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and from the reports of the righteous predecessors. There are other methods of upbringing the youth, and these are occurring. Among them is monitoring the youth in their reading of certain intellectual books that perhaps speak about a reality different from the one they are living in. Is this a benefit? Is there a benefit that your Eminence sees in it? Or is all the good in the Book of Allah the Exalted, and there is no doubt in that, and in the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and in the reports of those who came before us. And if the Shaykh permits, I would like to read to him phrases from the words of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah for him to comment on, or to answer directly.

The Shaykh : I say. I say that. The abundance of talk and rumor about what is happening on the scene, with no result except the result of division and grudges between hearts, is something the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade. Indeed, among the things he forbade was "qil wa qal" (talk and rumor). He forbade "qil wa qal." Why? Because one whose basis is "qil wa qal" will be led to lying. For this reason, it is narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said. We have tried this in what has occurred in these days of talk and rumor. We tried it and found lying in much of what people pass along. And this leads to evil, corruption, fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), and division. And this becomes a strong blow to the neck of this blessed awakening of this youth.
Therefore, I see that it is obligatory to turn away from delving into these matters, and that the young man should look to his future, and to the search for what benefits him, starting with the most important and being content with it over the less important, and with the less important over what is not important. As for talk that only causes grudges, hatred, and fanaticism for persons, or for the methodology of persons, this is an error, a clear error.
Stick to what benefits you. As for what concerns writings, there is no doubt that what the predecessors wrote is better than what the successors wrote, more blessed, more beneficial, and more life-giving to the heart. Indeed, a man may read in the books of the contemporary latecomers and not find the spiritual pleasure in what he reads. The most he finds there is an idea that may agree with his desire in his soul. Or he reads passionate words. That stir the emotion, but he does not find that his heart is nourished by this and his faith increases. But if he read the books of the first ones, and we give as an example the books of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim, he would find that every word, indeed every letter, illuminates his heart and increases his faith with it. And this is something tested. For this reason, I urge the youth to read the books of the predecessors, for in them is the good and sufficiency from what the contemporaries wrote. And what the contemporaries wrote is either taken from the books of the predecessors, but with a change in the wording, or it is from their ideas, distant from what the predecessors wrote. And in that case, the hoped-for good is. The books of the predecessors, and if Shaykh Abdullah ibn Salih al-Abaylan wants to read to us something of what he wrote about Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim, this is good and may Allah reward him with good,

The questioner : Shaykh al-Islam said: So upon every believer is that he does not speak in anything of the religion. Except following what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) brought, and he does not precede him, but he looks at what he said, so his saying follows his saying, and his action follows his command. So this is how the Companions were, and those who followed their path from the Tabi'un (the generation after the Companions) with excellence, and the imams of the Muslims. So for this reason, there was none among them who opposed the texts with his reason, nor established a religion other than what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) brought. And if he wants to know something of the religion and speak about it, he looks at what Allah and the Messenger said, and from that he learns and with that he speaks, and in that he looks and reflects, and with that he argues. So this is the foundation of the people of the Sunnah. And the people of innovation are the opposite of that, for they oppose this foundation in every way. And everyone who opposes what the Messenger brought does not have knowledge of it nor justice, but he does not have except ignorance and opinion and what the souls desire. And indeed, guidance has come to them from their Lord. And the people of innovation do not rely on the Book and the Sunnah and the reports of the predecessors from the Companions and the Tabi'un, but they rely on the intellect and language. And you will find they do not rely on the transmitted books of tafsir (Qur'anic exegesis) and hadith and the reports of the predecessors, but they rely on books of literature and books of kalam (theology) that their heads established. And this is also the way of the atheists, for they only take what is in the books of philosophy and books of literature and language. As for the books of the Qur'an and hadith and reports, they do not pay attention to them.

The Shaykh : His soul believes.

The questioner : We do not need what is documented.

The Shaykh : No, because you were surprised by the word "adab" (literature), books of literature, yes. I say what the Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned is correct. And it is obligatory for the person to argue with the transmitted over the reasoned, not with the reasoned over the transmitted. Because we are certain, with no doubt in it for us, that everyone who claims something reasoned that opposes the transmitted, that reasoned thing is defective. It is not possible for the correct, explicit intellect to ever oppose the correct transmission.
And Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) has a book called "Al-Aql wa al-Naql" (The Intellect and the Transmission), and it is called "Muwafaqat Sarih al-Ma'qul li Sahih al-Manqul" (The Agreement of the Explicit Intellect with the Correct Transmission), and it is called "Dar' Ta'arudh al-Aql wa al-Naql" (Repelling the Conflict Between the Intellect and the Transmission), and it is well known and famous. In this book, he clarified that it is not possible for the Shari'ah to come with what opposes the intellect. Rather, he said: I commit to the fact that every person who argues with a text from the Book or the correct Sunnah for a falsehood he claims, then this evidence he argued with for himself becomes evidence against him, it becomes evidence against him, not for him. And this is correct. And the result is that Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) is now in this speech urging us to look to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and what the righteous predecessors wrote on this topic,