The Contribution of Islam to the Solution of World Problems — Page 29
29 Islam has insisted the application of reason and intellect to all problems which man may encounter. The very first revelation that came to the Holy Prophets (sa) of Islam was: Recite in the name of your Lord Who created… Recite! And The Lord is Most Generous Who taught man by the pen. Taught man what he knew not. ( Ch. 96: Vs. 2 - 6 ) There is at every step in the Qur’an an exhortation towards the exercise of reason and judgement. People are invited to reflect, to ponder, to understand, etc. He grants wisdom to whom He pleases, and whoever is granted wisdom has indeed been granted abundant good; and none would be reminded except those endowed understanding. ( Ch. 2: V. 270 ) The Holy Prophets (sa) has said: The pursuit of knowledge is an obligation laid upon every Muslim man and woman. (Ibne Majah) And again …… A word of wisdom is the lost property of a Muslim He should seize it wherever he finds it. (Tirmizi) But the Qur’an does not stop short at general exhortation in support of learning and philosophy. At every it draws attention to the phenomena of nature in support and illustration of