Is there philosophy in the Islamic Shari'ah, what is the response to those who claim so, and is it permissible for a student to study such matters and delve into them?
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The questioner : The questioner says: Is there philosophy in the Islamic Shari'ah? What is the response to those who claim so? And is it permissible for a student to study such matters and delve into them?
The Shaykh : Philosophy is an independent Greek inquiry in which its practitioners delve until it leads them to the supremacy of reason and the rejection of what came in the Book and the Sunnah. Philosophy in this sense is reprehensible; it is not permissible to engage in it or enter into it. As for philosophy in the sense of wisdom, this exists in the Islamic Shari'ah. The entire Islamic Shari'ah is built upon wisdom. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said:[Al-Ma'idah 5:50] However, it is not befitting for us to call the wisdom of the Shari'ah "philosophy," because this word is Greek. Rather, we call the wisdom of the Shari'ah "wisdom." There is nothing in the Shari'ah that is not attributed to wisdom, but some of the wisdoms we know and some we do not, because our minds are limited. The greatest wisdom in rulings is that the ruling is established by the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), because we believe that every ruling established in the Book and the Sunnah is wisdom, and its implementation is wisdom, for in its implementation lies obedience to Allah and His Messenger, and the attainment of reward and recompense. Thus, if a questioner asks about the wisdom of something in the Shari'ah, it is sufficient for him, if he is a believer, to be told: "This is what Allah and His Messenger said," based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Ahzab 33:36] This was the methodology followed by the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). The Mother of the Believers, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), was asked why a menstruating woman makes up the fast but not the prayer, even though fasting is obligatory and prayer is obligatory, and prayer is more emphasized than fasting, yet prayer is not made up while fasting is? Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) answered that this used to happen to them in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); they were ordered to make up the fast but not ordered to make up the prayer. This means that the wisdom is the ruling of Allah and His Messenger.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Philosophy is an independent Greek inquiry in which its practitioners delve until it leads them to the supremacy of reason and the rejection of what came in the Book and the Sunnah. Philosophy in this sense is reprehensible; it is not permissible to engage in it or enter into it. As for philosophy in the sense of wisdom, this exists in the Islamic Shari'ah. The entire Islamic Shari'ah is built upon wisdom. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said:
Then is it the judgement of [the time of] ignorance they desire? But who is better than Allah in judgement for a people who are certain [in faith].
أَفَحُكْمَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ يَبْغُونَ وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللَّهِ حُكْمًا لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَIt is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair
وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْThe questioner : May Allah reward you with good.