Islamic Spirituality vs. Rationality: Ibn Rushd’s Reflections on the harmony between reason and revelation
By
Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam
5
May 2016
Does
science simply dismiss spirituality? Does it offer no scope for the
spiritually-inclined people? This has been a baffling question that both
religious scholars and scientists have grappled with for long.
The
truth is that human society will progress on constructive lines only when
science and religion go hand in hand. Just as religious seminaries cannot
progress out of sync with the time, scientific institutes also need spiritual
enlightenment.
Recently,
social scientists have reinforced the idea of teaching moral and spiritual
sciences in secular schools and rational sciences in religious seminaries. This
is a welcome sign of introspection. But regrettably, we are living in a
turbulent time when both religion and science are at stake.
After
the catastrophes of the two World Wars, we are now fated to see the biggest
tragedy of the 21st century. Science and religion both are being twisted and
misused to further vested interests. Religion which came as a spiritual path to
salvation is being turned into a political ideology creating religio-fascism.
The danger has grown so exponentially that it has gone beyond the extent of
Colonialism, economic exploitation of the Capitalism, atheism of Marxism, and
the moral bankruptcy of other man-made systems. Today, it’s not difficult to
see how scores of religious thugs are playing out in the society to debar the
blind fathers of religions from reason and rationality.
Much
in the same way, moral and ethical decay and spiritual deterioration are on the
rampage in the academic and scientific domain. Tolerance of dissenting views,
respect for freedom of expression and critical reasoning; all are losing their
actual meaning in educational institutes. In place of intellectual and social
engagement, students are more inclined towards political activities. The
consequence is that young and gullible pupils in university campuses are
raging, protesting, quite angrily and furiously. The reason? An essential combination of science and
spiritually is on the brink of complete disappearance from the whole scene of
modern society. Just as science without spirituality is hampering the
experience of one’s unlimited potential, religion without science is
indoctrinating one into unhealthy precepts and retrogressive dogmas.
The
concrete solution to this baffling problem, according to world luminaries, is
that science and spirituality are weaved into a thread of mutual corroboration.
As a matter of fact, both have striking commonalities and slight differences.
Spirituality
has never been antithetical to science. Rather, scientific temperament is a
pre-requisite to attain salvation. One, who is well versed in rational
sciences, gets deeply immersed in the mystical and spiritual wisdom. Similarly,
scientific thinking requires that we shun the polemics of religion and go to
the heart of its spirituality. Modern man can, thus, find a panacea for all the
ills, both in mundane and spiritual spheres of life.
Muslim
philosophers and social scientists also perceived a perfect harmony between
reason and revelation. They argued that numerous Qur’anic verses exhort
contemplation (tadabbur), reflection (tafakkur) and pursuit of surest knowledge
(ilm al-yaqeen). It would be refreshing to go through the religious and
philosophical ideas of those Islamic scholars who cogently outlined the need
for a fine balance between religion and science. There are plenty of
irrefutable proofs to substantiate the point that these Muslim scientists and
inventors were fervent advocates of science and reason, while at the same time
staunch believers in the Quran.
For
instance, the reviver of Aristotelian philosophy and a great believer in the
Quran as guidance for all mankind, Ibn Rushd (Averroes) held progressive views
on a spiritual symbiosis between religion and philosophy, reason and science of
creations. He extensively quoted the Qur’an’s references in support of his
position.
Abu
Walid Mohammad IbnRushd, also known as Averroes in the West, was born to be
remembered for his tremendous contributions in philosophy, religion, medicine,
astronomy, psychology, mechanics, physics and theology, particularly for his
profound commentaries on Aristotle which shaped European thinking throughout
the later Medieval and early Renaissance periods. At the young age of 25, Ibn
Rushd conducted astronomical observations and discovered a previously
unobserved star. He also gave one of the first descriptions on sunspots. In
medicine, he rendered remarkable contributions and wrote a ground-breaking book
“Kitab al-Kulyat fi al-Tibb” which became more famous in Latin as ‘Colliget’.
In this book, Ibn Rushd dwelt on various aspects of medicine including the
diagnoses, cure and prevention of several diseases and original observations of
him. He wrote at least 67 original works including 28 works on philosophy, 20
on medicine, 8 on religion, 5 on theology, and 4 on grammar.
Ibn
Rushd was deeply moved by Islamic spirituality. He held that his faith in the
omnipotence and oneness of God increased by carefully studying anatomy.
Consequently, he developedprofound religious faith within his heart and
believed that one can enjoy true psychological happiness only by following the
path to lead a blissful eternal life in the hereafter.
Ibn
Rushd’s interpretation of the Quran engages one in an intellectual
brainstorming. He was so immersed in the Qur’anic combination of reason and
revelation that he had the courage of conviction to say: “the study of existing
beings, natural sciences, and other disciplines like physics, metaphysics,
ethics etc. is obligatory in the Qur’anic view”. He contributed a comprehensive
book in Arabic “Kitabfasl al-maqal” on the harmony of religion and science
articulating it in a clear, cogent and convincing way.
I am
reproducing below a translated excerpt from a chapter of the above-mentioned
Arabic book (Kitabfasl al-maqal) on “the Harmony of Religions and Philosophy”.
It is not difficult to see in them that Ibn Rushd extensively quoted Qur’anic
verses to buttress his point that religion is in full synergy with scientific
temperament:
· “There is a clear indication of the
necessity of both reason and revelation in the interpretation of things. The
Qur’an says: "Do they not contemplate the kingdom of heaven and earth and
the things which God has created" [7:184]”.
· “The more perfect becomes the
knowledge of creation, the more perfect becomes the knowledge of the Creator.
The [Islamic]Religion encourages and exhorts us to observe creation. Thus, it
is clear that this is to be taken either as a religious injunction or as
something approved by the Religion. But the Religion urges us to observe
creation by means of reason and demands the knowledge thereof through reason.
This is evident from different verses of the Qur'an. The Qur'an says:
"Wherefore take example from them, you who have eyes" [Qur'an 49.2]”
· “That is a clear indication of the
necessity of using the reasoning faculty, or rather both reason and religion,
in the interpretation of things. Again it says: "Or do they not
contemplate the kingdom of heaven and earth and the things which God has
created" [Qur'an 7.184]”.
· “For a believer in the religion and a
follower of it, it is necessary to know these things before he begins to look
into creation, for they are like instruments for observation. For, just as a
student discovers by the study of the religion, the necessity of knowledge of
legal reasoning with all its kinds and distinctions, a student will find out by
observing the creation the necessity of metaphysical reasoning. Indeed, he has
a greater claim on it than the jurist”.
Ibn
Rush quoted many Qur’anic verses in support of rationality, reason and
encouraged the use of observation to study the universe and creations. Some of
those verses from the Qur’an that he quoted in his book “Kitabfasl al-maqal”
are as in the following:
"Do
they not consider the camels, how they are created; and the heaven, how it is
raised" [Qur'an 88.17].
"And
(who) meditate on the creation of heaven and earth, saying, O Lord you have not
created this in vain" [Qur'an 3.176]. T
"Wherefore
take example from them O you who have eyes" [Qur'an 59.2],
“One
cannot maintain that reasoning is an innovation in religion because it did not
exist in the early days of Islam. For legal reasoning and its kinds are things
which were invented also in later ages, and no one thinks they are innovations.
Such should also be our attitude towards philosophical reasoning”.
"Verily the idols which you invoke,
beside God, can never create a single fly, though they may all assemble for
that purpose" [Qur'an 22.72].
"Or
do they not contemplate the heaven and the earth, and the things which God has
created?" [Qur'an 7.184].
"Blessed
be He Who has placed the twelve signs in the heavens; has placed therein a lamp
by day, and the moon which shines by night" [Qur'an 25.62]
"Let
man consider his food" [Qur'an 80.24].
"Let
man consider, therefore of what he is created. He is created of the seed poured
forth, issuing from the loins, and the breast bones" [Qur'an 86.6];
"Do
they not consider the camels, how they are created; the heaven, how it is
raised; the mountains, how they are fixed; the earth how it is extended"
[Qur'an 88.17];
"O
man, a parable is propounded unto you; wherefore hearken unto it. Verily the
idols which they invoke, besides God, can never create a single fly, though
they may all assemble for the purpose" [Qur'an 22.72].
"I
direct my face unto Him Who has created heaven and earth; I am orthodox, and
not of the idolaters" [Qur'an 6.79].
"O men, of Mecca, serve your Lord, Who
has created you, and those who have been before you: peradventure you will fear
Him; Who has spread the earth as a bed for you, and the heaven as a covering,
and has caused water to descend from heaven, and thereby produced fruits for
your sustenance. Set not up, therefore, any equals unto God, against your own
knowledge [Qur'an 2.19]. His words,
“Who
has created you, and those who have been before you," lead us to the
argument of creation; while the words, "who has spread the earth"
refer to the argument of divine solicitude for man. Of this kind also are the
following verses of the Qur'an, "One sign of the resurrection unto them is
the dead earth; We quicken the same by rain, and produce there from various
sorts of grain, of which they eat" [Qur'an 36.32]
"Now in the creation of heaven and earth,
and the vicissitudes of night and day are signs unto those who are endowed with
understanding, who remember God standing, and sitting, and lying on their
sides; and meditate on the creation of heaven and earth, saying O Lord, far be
it from You, therefore deliver us from the torment of hellfire" [Qur'an
3.188].
"And when the Lord drew forth their
posterity from the loins of the sons of Adam, and took them witness against
themselves, Am I not your Lord? They answered, Yes, we do bear witness"
[Qur'an 7.171].
"God has borne witness, that there is no
God but He, and the angels, and those who are endowed with wisdom profess the
same; who execute righteousness; there is no God but He; the Mighty, the
Wise" [Qur'an 3.16]. Among the arguments for both of themselves is the
praise which God refers to in the following verse, "Neither is there
anything which does not celebrate his praise; but you understand not their
celebration thereof" [Qur'an 17.46].
An
expert of the Maliki Islamic jurisprudential school of thought, Ibn Rushd
amazingly augmented flourishing knowledge, critical reasoning and logical
progression in his thoughts. He richly contributed to the European sciences and
is recalled as the intellectual architect of the Europe.
The
essential message of Ibn Rushd with regard to reason and religion needs to be
rejuvenated today. He believed truth, for eternity, has two sides; one relies
on religion or spiritual path, which does not require any mundane kind of
reasoning. But the other is entirely based on rationality andlogic.
In his
book, Tahafat al-Tahafat, which he wrote in an intellectual retort to Imam
Ghazali’s book “Tahafat al-Falasifa”, Ibn Rushd made it patently clear that
there is no conflict between these two paths that lead to truth, because, he
avers, “some people are born with spiritual minds and are imbued in faith and,
therefore, they choose to tread this path, without any need for enquiry and
questioning”. However, Ibn Rushd explains that “there are also people who
cannot settle without questioning and clearing their doubts. Therefore, it
would be better for such people to opt for the second path”.
Given
the latter section of human beings, Ibn Rushd called for scientific reasoning
and full confirmation between the religion and rationality. He wrote a very
interesting piece in this regard, in his book “Kitabfasl al-maqal”:
“A
large number of the followers of this religion [Islam] confirm philosophical
reasoning, all except a small worthless minority, who argue from religious
ordinances. Now, as it is established that the religion makes the consideration
of philosophical reasoning and its kinds as necessary as legal reasoning, if
none of our predecessors has made an effort to enquire into it, we should begin
to do it, and so help them, until the knowledge is complete”.
A
regular columnist for Newageislam.Com, Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi Is a scholar of
comparative religion
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