FROM MAULANA’S DESK

after reaching the level of conviction, he discovers the authenticity of the revelation. From this point of view, it would be correct to say that intellect, or reason, reinforces revelation and does not contradict it. The intellect is a natural gift bestowed upon man by the Creator. It is not a personal invention or commodity. The conflict between religion and reason began with a misunderstanding when an extreme version of reason was proposed. Some proclaimed that the intellect itself is the standard of acquiring knowledge. The religious class accepted this concept and unnecessarily considered reason or rational thinking as anti-religionist. To counter their differences, they held that the realm of reason was different from the realm of revelation, and that the realm of intellect ends where revelation begins. The root of the word ‘intellect’ (aql in Arabic) is used about fifty times in the Quran. The Quran repeatedly refers to the intellect and asks man to seek the truth of revelation through intellect. For example, this verse is mentioned in chapter Joseph of the Quran, “We have sent down the Quran in Arabic, so that you may understand (by applying reason)”. (12: 2) Similarly, the Quran advises people to use their intellect to discover the truth of prophethood (10: 16), etc. Man is naturally endowed with various abilities. For example, the ability of the feet to walk, of the hand to hold, of the eyes to see, of the ears to hear, and so on. In the same way, man has been endowed with intellect which is capability of thinking and analyzing. Together with the intellect, man has been given complete freedom. Man has the right to properly use or misuse this freedom. It is a known fact that the ear and the eye can be put to proper as well as improper use. Likewise is the case with the intellectual faculty of man. The function of human intellect is to collect information and observation, and then through analysis of the information attain correct knowledge and truth. The intellect by itself is not a source of knowledge. So, it is possible for the intellect to reach the right and even the wrong conclusions. Those who see the intellect as a source of knowledge in itself, are in fact extremists in the rational school of thought. Such extremists are found everywhere, even in the realm of religion and faith. o Maulana Wahiduddin Khan editor@thespiritofislam.org Follow Maulana at http://www.speakingtree.in (The Times of India)