Reason is prerequisite to the acquisition of knowledge

God created man with a particular innate nature, 'fitrah'. The beliefs, values and the principles of Islamic life and society have their roots in this fitrah. Islam is the religion of fitrah.

And the whole purpose of Islam is the perfection of mankind on the lines of his fitrah. Reason is part of fitrah. Here there is and must be complete agreement between reason and revelation.

Reason is prerequisite to the acquisition of knowledge, as well as for the performance of a good deed or righteous act. Mystical states like ecstasy or intoxication, which involve the suppression of reason, are imperfect states of mind, and ideas that conflict with reason are false.

However, reason is not self-sufficient; it cannot dispense with revelation, which alone gives the knowledge of realities that transcend it.

Most Sufis, on the other hand, condemn reason and find fault with it. They assert that sublime states and higher spiritual stages are never attained without negating reason.

They expound ideas which contradict reason and lead to rapture, ecstasy and intoxication. They believe in truths and experiences which, as they claim, accrue only when reason is completely suppressed; they also believe in things that are clearly denied by reason or are not attested to by it.

Both of these sources are wrong. To be sure, reason is prerequisite to all knowledge, as it is the prerequisite of virtue and good life. With it we acquire knowledge and virtue, but it is not sufficient by itself.

It is only a faculty of the soul, a power like the power of vision in the eye. It works only when it receives light from faith and the Qur’an, as the eye sees only when it receives light from the sun or a fire.

In another word, 'Reason are like Eyes and Revelation are the Light'. Both working together in applying God's Will in our everyday life. Revelation without reason are like walking in broad daylight but blindfolded while reason without revelation are like walking in the dark with the eyes wide open.

Both revelation and reasoning are equally important, one cannot do without the other. Prophets came with knowledge which reason could not attain in and of itself; never did they come with what reason considers to be impossible.

People who place unjustified faith in reason readily make statements regarding the necessity, possibility or impossibility of things purely on the basis of reason; they work all the while under the impression that their views are correct, whereas they are false; they are even audacious enough to oppose the views which the prophets taught.

On the other hand, those who decry reason and affirm things that are false, revel in satanic states and evil practices, and cross the boundaries which the sense of discrimination (between good and evil) draws, with which God has endowed man and elevated him above other creatures.

(ref: 'Expounds on Islam' by Ibn Taymiyyah Fatawa 3:338-9)

In search of certainty and authenticity of God's Revelation. The best understanding of it's meaning and maximum certainty of its authentication will help us appreciate the Wisdom and proper application behind each revelation.

Authenticity by itself is insufficient for Truth, correct understanding and knowledge of the meaning (al-dilalah) of the revelation are equally important.

Qati' literally means Authenticated or Unambiguous, Definitive and Certain. While Zanni means Speculative, Ambiguous or Uncertain, Al Tsubut means the authenticity of it's narration (isnad) while al-dilalah means the texts has more than one meaning.

According to the Islamic Scholars, there are 4 categories of authentication in certainty (credibility) of the meaning and implication of revelation from the Quran and Hadith:

1) Qat'i al-tsubut and Qati al Dilalah - Authenticated and Certain in it's meaning.

- Issues related to Aqidah without which a person cannot be a believer must be proven through this type of text e.g. belief in Allah (tauhid), Angels, Holy Scriptures, Prophets, Afterlife, Pre-destiny and Pre Destination, etc.

Acts that are proven through the this type of text are classified as
fardh/wajib (obligatory), unless proven otherwise. Examples of this type: solat, zakah, hajj, fasting etc. Prohibitions that are proven through this type of text are classified as Haram (prohibited) and major sins, unless proven otherwise.

Examples: killing of innocents, robbery, lying, slandering, adultery, alcohol consumption etc.

2) Qati al-tsubut and Zanni al- Dilalah - Authenticated but Not Certain in it's meaning.

- All verses of the Quran is Authentic because it's from a Mutawatir source but not all of the verses in the Quran are certain in meaning and they are ambiguous in its implication and explanation. For example:

"As for the thief, the male and the female, amputate their hands in recompense for what they committed as a deterrent from Allah..."(QS 5:38)

The instruction from this verse is to amputate the hands of the thief. But it did not specified who qualifies as a thief, i e: is the person who instruct another person to steal is consider a thief?

Is taking Rm1 from the pocket of our siblings consider a thief? And this verse did not say to amputate the left hand or right hand or both hands.

3) Zanni al tsubut and Qati al Dilalah - Not Authenticate but Certain in it's meaning.

Hadith that are not categorized as mutawatir like hadith ghorib, hadith aziz and hadith masyhur in the hadith ahad category are deem as Zanni al tsubut (not authenticated, speculative).

Some of hadith ahad which has unambiguous and certain in it's meaning are deem as Qati al Dilalah.

4) Zanni al tsubut and Zanni al Dilalah - Not Authenticate and Not Certain in it's meaning.

- Hadith Ahad with shaky foundation (isnad) and speculative or more than one meaning or explanation (matan) are considered as Zanni al Dilalah and Zanni al- Dilalah - Not Authenticate and Not Certain in it's meaning.

A hadith ahad cannot create conviction about its contents even if the reporter is reliable; there is the chances of forgetting, misunderstanding or unintended misquotation on the part of the truthful, reliable reporter.

However, in spite of being a zanni source, 'khabar wahid thiqah' is considered by most of the Islamic Scholars, namely the mujtahids as a valid source for the shari'ah laws because the shari'ah itself has approved it.

Surah al-Hujuraat, verse 49 (QS 6:49) says that if a single report (khabar wahid) comes from an unreliable (fasiq) reporter, then it should not be accepted without further verification.

The impli­cation of this verse is that if a single report comes from a reliable (thiqah) reporter, then accept it without any need for further verification.

Therefore, the mujtahids accept the single hadith (hadith ahad) narrated by a reliable reporter as a source for shari'ah laws because the Qur'an has implicitly approved it.

Wallahu'alam

Sheikh Nuruddin Lemu