REASON AND REVELATION

you may understand [by applying reason].” (12: 2) Similarly, in another verse a Prophet urges his people to reflect and determine the integrity of his claim to prophethood (10: 16). A human being has been given various kinds of capabilities: the hands to hold, legs to walk, eyes to see, and ears to hear. Similarly, humans have been granted reason so that they may ponder over issues and comprehend by doing rational analysis. Along with this, humans have been given total freedom which means that they can either make proper use of their reason or put it to improper use. The real purpose of reason is for man to collect data or information and then through examination and deliberation, arrive at useful knowledge. However, reason in itself is not an authority which is why one can be either right or wrong in taking support of reason in one’s pursuit of knowledge. Those who see reason as the source of knowledge belong to an extremist school of thought, a phenomenon observed everywhere including within the sphere of religion. o Reason supplements the understanding of revelation and is not opposed or inconsistent to it.