Through Force or Faith? — Page 219
Chapter 5 — Faith and Reason: Islamic Perspective 219 if I were not to declare at this stage that divine bounty has bestowed upon me the status which I have just defined and has honoured me with the kind of converse the features of which I have just set out in detail, so that I should bestow sight upon the blind and should guide the seekers of the One Who has been so far lost, and should give to those who accept the truth the good news of that holy fountain. ( The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam, p 184) The Relationship between Religion and Reason According to Islam There is no doubt that man’s intellect and thought is limited, because man’s knowledge is limited; and therefore man’s ability to deduce from this knowledge is also limited. Many of man’s objec- tions to the works of God are because he is unable to know cer- tain matters and understand their wisdom. Does this imply that, according to Islam, something unreasonable can be attributed to God, as the Pope has alleged? Certainly not! According to Islam, God’s acts can be such that they are not comprehended by man but they are not illogical. Therefore, in Islam, God repeatedly invites humans to use their minds to think and ponder. For example, in one place men are told to think indi- vidually and in groups: ْنَا اْوُمْوُقَت ِهّٰلِل ىٰنْثَم َو ىٰداَرُف َّمُث اْوُرَّكَفَتَت١۫ … that you stand up before Allah in twos and singly and then reflect. … ( S u rah Saba’, 34:47)