Great read! It reminded me of this passage in George Makdisi’s Ibn ‘Aqil: Religion and Culture in Classical Islam (page 93):
"Ibn 'Aqil insists on the rights of reason: in reason and in the eyes of the revealed law, it is crucial to give reason the rights that are its due. He gives a list of these rights: deliberation (tadabbur), reflection (tafakkur), inference (istidlal), intellectual examination (nazar), dignity (waqar), tenacity (tamassuk) for the truth, foresight to prepare for contingencies and consequences (i'dad li lawaqib), and precaution (ihtiyat)."
I will need to read this again to fully grasp its depth. One question that comes to mind is "don't we use our mind (comprised of our own individualistic ways of perceiving, our own unknown biases etc) to understand revelation?" If so. How can we be sure that we are grasping the pure original intent of the revelation itself?" That is to say, doesn't our "mind" inevitably distort...everything? My apologies if this isn't clear, but inshallah you will understand what I'm getting at. Thank you for this post!!
That's exactly the point. Our reason is always impinged upon by many things, and among the worst distortions to our ability to think and know is vice. That's why to be a better thinker, say Ghazali, you have to purify the self. You understand the meaning of revelation better when you rid yourself of envy, pride, greed, etc. — otherwise, you will filter revelation/knowledge through your egoism.
I just started my Substack journey in which I explore effective ways of freeing Palestine and sharing deep thoughts (among other things) follow for more 🫶🏻
Great read! It reminded me of this passage in George Makdisi’s Ibn ‘Aqil: Religion and Culture in Classical Islam (page 93):
"Ibn 'Aqil insists on the rights of reason: in reason and in the eyes of the revealed law, it is crucial to give reason the rights that are its due. He gives a list of these rights: deliberation (tadabbur), reflection (tafakkur), inference (istidlal), intellectual examination (nazar), dignity (waqar), tenacity (tamassuk) for the truth, foresight to prepare for contingencies and consequences (i'dad li lawaqib), and precaution (ihtiyat)."
Thank you for this both revelatory and reasonable post. Well worth the read.
I will need to read this again to fully grasp its depth. One question that comes to mind is "don't we use our mind (comprised of our own individualistic ways of perceiving, our own unknown biases etc) to understand revelation?" If so. How can we be sure that we are grasping the pure original intent of the revelation itself?" That is to say, doesn't our "mind" inevitably distort...everything? My apologies if this isn't clear, but inshallah you will understand what I'm getting at. Thank you for this post!!
That's exactly the point. Our reason is always impinged upon by many things, and among the worst distortions to our ability to think and know is vice. That's why to be a better thinker, say Ghazali, you have to purify the self. You understand the meaning of revelation better when you rid yourself of envy, pride, greed, etc. — otherwise, you will filter revelation/knowledge through your egoism.
I just started my Substack journey in which I explore effective ways of freeing Palestine and sharing deep thoughts (among other things) follow for more 🫶🏻
Is this a zombie reference?