The Refutation of Those Who Say That Reason Takes Precedence Over Revelation, Because Reason Is Older Than Revelation, According to Their Claim.

The questioner: Our Shaykh.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner: In some cases, or regarding a person who is from... if you know him, his name is Amin...

The Shaykh: Is this the Syrian?

The questioner: No, our Shaykh, the one who came to you last time...

The Shaykh: This is a madman!! A madman, a madman!!
The questioner : Yes, I do.

The questioner: Now - our Shaykh - he is calling to his innovation in the current time, so among the... in which the youth have fallen is giving precedence to reason over revelation; I wish our Shaykh would respond to us; because during the conversation he speaks about the antiquity of reason; therefore, he gives precedence to reason over the text!

The Shaykh: What do you mean by the antiquity of reason?

The questioner: He argues by asking which is older, reason or revelation?

Another questioner: He has no reason at all.

Another questioner: Clarify Husam's point of view?

The Shaykh : Yes.

Another questioner: Husam means - and Allah knows best - that reason has priority as evidence in knowing the... this is what they claim.

The Shaykh: Yes, meaning as is narrated from Muhammad 'Abduh: if reason and revelation conflict, reason is given precedence over revelation, this is what your interpretation means.

The questioner: Do you mean that reason precedes...

Another questioner: ...the speech of the philosophers regarding absolute reason.

The Shaykh: No, I am talking about... Hudhayfah... did you believe in the speech of Hudhayfah or the speech of...?
[Everyone laughs!]

The questioner: They say that.

The Shaykh: I know, but you are interpreting his speech! Did you believe in this interpretation? I don't think so!!

The questioner: No...

The Shaykh : That is it.

The questioner: Your interpretation is not... in my opinion, it is your interpretation, my interpretation is correct, that is what you want? Is that it?

Another questioner: No, that is not it...

The questioner: My interpretation is what you want...

Another questioner: ...clarify to him, among the issues he raises is that he says: where was revelation in the past before the existence of revelation in knowing the Creator; so this means some of the youth fell into some of the Mu'tazilah, the Mu'tazilah are from his group, meaning.

The Shaykh: He says: I am a Mu'tazili, he openly declares his misguidance and says: I am a Mu'tazili, and he takes pride in it. My brother, the problem of the youth today is as they say about us in Syria: "A stick gathers them, a stick scatters them," they no longer know the knowledge of the scholars of knowledge, so whoever speaks and uses fancy words and rambles; what is he? He is listened to and heeded, this is an error, and from here comes the confusion and the turmoil and so on.
This is us, we met with him after persistent requests, and that hour my brother Abu Ahmad told me: Abu Sayyakh, this means something, he had called me on the phone and asked for a meeting after I was surprised by him in some of the mosques, we were invited by some of our Egyptian brothers, I think, yes, and as is the custom, we hardly finish - for example - from food or prayer but some of the youth gather around us, and he starts to give a speech on an occasion or another, or to ask a question and answer, and so on, so I was sitting and around us were brothers like this number or more, and if this one stands up and stops and speaks, he objects to me, I no longer remember now...

The questioner: He said to you: You are from the scholars of the Ummah and this speech, he said to you: You are from the scholars of the Ummah, and these partisan groups must be gathered and so on...

The Shaykh: The important thing is if he really has nothing but shouting, as for giving and taking and so on, it is absolutely impossible, so I spoke with him and perhaps I also raised my voice a little.

The questioner: By Allah, our Shaykh, you imagine his daily routine, you remained silent until he finished his speech.

The Shaykh: This is it, but later.
The point is the gathering dispersed, after a long period he called me on the phone, he greeted as usual, who is it? he says to me: So-and-so. I did not remember him, later he reminded me, he says: I want to meet with you so that we can discuss topics, perhaps he named them, after I remembered who he was? I said to him: No, I am not prepared to meet with you. He said: Why? I said to him: If you stop the shouting, otherwise I will call you Abu Sayyakh, and scientific research does not accept shouting, it requires patience, calmness, long temper and so on, and years passed, how many years has this issue been?

The questioner: It could be four years.

The Shaykh: Four years, the important thing... the details, he wanted a meeting, we gathered at my house, a group attended including the professor Abu Malik, he started to speak with his known philosophy and doubt the indication of the texts, and this is the doubt of the philosophers; that the indication of the texts is all speculative, and therefore they give precedence to what? Reason over revelation, I said to him: What is this speech, O Shaykh? I think I brought for him like: , is that so?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh: So he answered me with an answer - I seek refuge in Allah! - he said to me: There is no verse but it contains two aspects! I brought for him this verse, here; it has two aspects, here ? And he started to speak of the East and the West and so on, and he brought with him two people who are perhaps more foolish than him, and Allah knows best, they became what? They defended him. The summary: the session turned into a session of shouting; because this is his function and his skill and his specialty, and the gathering dispersed with absolutely nothing.
Therefore, we advise the youth - my brother - not every time a shouter shouts or a barker barks, by Allah, we listen to him and heed him, therefore I sometimes like the strictness of some of the Salaf in what? In their prohibition of sitting with the people of innovation; until they feared for themselves, this is one of the wonders.

The questioner: Snare-like doubts.

The Shaykh : Yes?

The questioner: Snare-like doubts and the hearts are weak.

The Shaykh: Ah, they feared for themselves lest a doubt from this arguer with falsehood would stick in the heart of whom? The scholar; what about the general people? Therefore, it is not permissible to heed these people, rather it is said to them: there are scholars and students of knowledge there with whom you can gather and understand, we do not know this speech that you are talking about, as for us sitting and listening? Every day in religion, every day an opinion, and this is evidence of the instability of the correct faith in the hearts of people.

Another questioner: Our Shaykh, since this tape has more than one madman, we add the third madman, which is Yunus, our Shaykh [Everyone laughs], I was yesterday at Ahmad al-Salik's, our Shaykh, so - yes - he asked Ahmad al-Salik...

The Shaykh: Was he present there?

The questioner: No, I was at Ahmad al-Salik's yesterday, so he asked Ahmad al-Salik that some of the youth gather with them; yes, so he refused, I said to him - of course this is our opinion, our Shaykh, may Allah preserve him - that he should not sit with these people because, and the evidence for that is the session of our brother Ali - may Allah guide him - with al-Saqaf, how did this turn out later!! Yes.

The questioner: ... thisThe Shaykh : Ahmad 'Atiyyah.

Another questioner: I know from my sheikhsThe Shaykh : Ahmad 'Atiyyah...
... ... .