What is your response to those who say that reason in its absolute sense is praiseworthy and that there is no such thing as blameworthy reason?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Praise be to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. Our Shaykh, we would like you to tell us your response to a statement made by some individuals. What do you say about the one who claims that reason in its absolute sense is praiseworthy and that there is no blameworthy reason, and that blameworthy reason does not exist at all? He argues based on his reading of the Qur'an that there is no legal text in the Qur'an stating that there is blameworthy reason. Rather, the statement was made: [Al-Baqarah 2:171] meaning that one who does not reason does not have any blameworthy reason at all. The result of his research is that he wants to conclude that the Book, the Sunnah, and reason are equal in terms of evidence. In fact, he may sometimes say that reason...
The Shaykh: How is the last sentence?
The questioner : He says the Book, the Sunnah, and reason, or he may say in the following order: reason, the Book, the Sunnah. What do you say?
The Shaykh : This is playing with words. The Book is a reference that every Muslim who wants it can access. The Sunnah is the same. Where is reason?
The questioner : He, O Shaykh, says that there is not...
The Shaykh : You, leave aside what he says. Tell me, you who have understood what he says, where is this reason?
The questioner : In the body of the human being.
The Shaykh : Is the body of the human being one, or is it distributed?
The questioner : One, of course.
The Shaykh : Where is it? May Allah guide you.
The questioner : Do you mean the body of the individual human being?
The Shaykh : I mean, or are you the one who is saying it? Reason is an absolute name. Is it confined to a human being?
The questioner : No, of course not.
The Shaykh : What about the Qur'an?
The questioner : It is confined.
The Shaykh : Good. What about the Sunnah?
The questioner : It is also confined.
The Shaykh : It is confined. What about reason?
The questioner : It is not confined.
The Shaykh : So how can one refer to something that is not confined? That is why I told you beforehand: it is playing with words, and this is among the ill effects of partisanship and the lack of interest in studying the Book and the Sunnah. Is there anyone else, my brothers?
deaf, dumb and blind, so they do not understand.
صم بكم عمي فهم لا يعقلونThe Shaykh: How is the last sentence?
The questioner : He says the Book, the Sunnah, and reason, or he may say in the following order: reason, the Book, the Sunnah. What do you say?
The Shaykh : This is playing with words. The Book is a reference that every Muslim who wants it can access. The Sunnah is the same. Where is reason?
The questioner : He, O Shaykh, says that there is not...
The Shaykh : You, leave aside what he says. Tell me, you who have understood what he says, where is this reason?
The questioner : In the body of the human being.
The Shaykh : Is the body of the human being one, or is it distributed?
The questioner : One, of course.
The Shaykh : Where is it? May Allah guide you.
The questioner : Do you mean the body of the individual human being?
The Shaykh : I mean, or are you the one who is saying it? Reason is an absolute name. Is it confined to a human being?
The questioner : No, of course not.
The Shaykh : What about the Qur'an?
The questioner : It is confined.
The Shaykh : Good. What about the Sunnah?
The questioner : It is also confined.
The Shaykh : It is confined. What about reason?
The questioner : It is not confined.
The Shaykh : So how can one refer to something that is not confined? That is why I told you beforehand: it is playing with words, and this is among the ill effects of partisanship and the lack of interest in studying the Book and the Sunnah. Is there anyone else, my brothers?
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.