RATIONALITY OF FAITH

All the above arguments are in one way or another inferential in nature and not of the direct kind. In view of this fact, critics hold that all faiths, including Islam, have no scientific basis. They contend that Islamic theology is not based on primary rationalism, but on secondary rationalism. However, these contentions appeared to be valid only till the end of the nineteenth century. The previous century closed the chapter on all such debates. Now, according to modern developments in science, one can safely say that religious tenets can be proved on the same logical plane as the concepts of science. There is now no difference between the two in terms of scientific reasoning. Let us, then, see what modern scientific reasoning is all about. Scientific Argument Religion, or faith, relates to issues such as the existence of God, something intangible and unobservable, unlike non-religious things like the sun, which has a tangible and observable existence. Therefore, it came to be held that only non-religious matters might be established by direct argument, while it is only indirect or inferential argument which can be used to prove religious propositions. It was believed, therefore, that rational argument was possible only in non-religious matters, and as far as religious matters were concerned, rational argument was not applicable at all. That is to say, it was only in non-religious areas that primary rationalism was possible, while in religion, only secondary rationalism could be applied. In the past, arguments based on Aristotelean logic used to be applied to faith. By its very nature, it was an indirect argument. Modern critics, therefore, labelled such arguments as unworthy of consideration. That is why religion was not thought worthy of being paid any attention to by rational people. This state of affairs presented a challenge not only to other religions but to Islam as well. About five hundred years ago, with the emergence of science, this state of affairs did not change. Scientists in the wake of the Renaissance, believed that matter, in fact, the entire material world, was something solid which could be observed. Newton had even formed a theory that light consisted of tiny corpuscles. As such, it was possible to apply The existence of God, as a designer (cause) was presumed because His design (effect) could be seen to exist.