Reason is a Precious Gift

By Mohammad A Rahman 

Reason is the most precious gift of God to mankind. It is the faculty by which God is recognized. It is through this that man distinguishes truth from falsehood, right from wrong. This is probably why a tradition is reported to us as follows:

“Gabriel descended upon Adam and said to him: God has commanded me to let you choose one of these three: intellect, religion, and modesty. Adam said: I choose intellect. Then modesty and religion said: So we shall come with you, O Adam, as God has commanded us to be with intellect wherever it be.” (The Five Schools of Islamic Law by Maghniyyah).

The Holy Qur’an is replete with verses exhorting believers to use their intellect to meditate on the creation, on the Qur’an itself so as to be certain about the truth. In fact Qur’an has equated man with beasts who do not use intellect or reason:

Surely the vilest of animals, in God's sight, are the deaf, the dumb, who do not use intellect. (Qur’an 8:22)

And certainly We have created for hell many of the jinn and the men; they have hearts with which they do not understand, and they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear; they are as cattle, nay, they are in worse errors; these are the heedless ones. (Qur’an 7:179)

In many places the Holy Qur’an praises the people who think and use their faculty of intellect:

Those who remember Allah standing and sitting and lying on their sides and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: Our Lord! You hast not created this in vain! Glory be to Thee; save us then from the chastisement of the fire (Qur’an 3:191)

Say: Are those equal, those who know and those who do not know? It is those who are endued with understanding that remember (God's Message). (Qur’an 39:9)

God has challenged human beings to meditate on the Qur’an and see for themselves that it is indeed from the almighty God:

Do they not then meditate on the Qur’an? And if it were from any other than Allah, they would have found in it many a discrepancy. (Qur’an 4:82)

He invites us to ponder upon ourselves and assures us that we would certainly find the truth by doing so:

We will soon show them Our signs in the Universe and in their own souls, until it will become quite clear to them that it is the truth. Is it not sufficient as regards your Lord that He is a witness over all things? (Qur’an 41:53)

The very gift of knowledge from God is considered an overflowing benefit by God Himself:

He [Allah] grants wisdom to whom He pleases; and he to whom wisdom is granted indeed receives a benefit overflowing. But none will grasp the Message except men of understanding. (Qur’an 2:269)

It is well known that best human being in the sight of God is the one who is the most God-fearing. However, a person not endued with proper understanding cannot truly fear God as he lacks the true knowledge of God. Only a knowledgeable person can truly fear God:

Those truly fear Allah, among His Servants, who have knowledge (Qur’an 35:28)

It is no surprise that Prophet Jesus (upon whom be peace) also emphasized on reason and intellect for his followers to figure out the truth. Recounting the events of Abraham, Jesus showed how important it is to use intellect:

Jesus replied: "Abraham was seven years old when he began to seek God. So one day he said to his father: 'Father, what made man?' The foolish father answered: 'Man [made man]; for I made you, and my father made me.' Abraham answered: 'Father, it is not so; for I have heard an old man weeping and saying: 'O my God, why have you not given me children?'' His father replied: 'It is true, my son, that God helps man to make man, but he does not put his hands to [the task]; it is only necessary that man come to pray to his God and to give him lambs and sheep, and his God will help him.' Abraham answered: 'How many gods are there, father?' The old man replied: 'They are infinite in number, my son.'

Then Abraham said: 'O father, what shall I do if I serve one god and another [god] wishes me evil because I do not serve him? In any case discord will come between them, and so war will arise among the gods. (Gospel of Barnabas Ch 26)

Jesus (upon whom be peace) indeed wanted his followers to obey God only after their heart and soul fully recognized Him:

Then said one of the doctors: "Master, you have spoken much against idolatry as though the people of Israel had idols, and so you have done us wrong." Jesus answered: "I know well that in Israel today there are not statues of wood; but there are statues of flesh." Then answered all the scribes in wrath: "And so we are idolaters?" Jesus answered: "Truly I say to you, the precept says not "You shall worship", but "You shall love the Lord your God with all your soul, and with all your heart, and with all your mind." Is this true?" said Jesus. "It is true" answered every one. (Gospel of Barnabas, Ch 32)

Jesus (upon him be peace) says that he who does not meditate will lose his eternal life:

Jesus answered: "If the world is good without the sun, man without eyes, and the soul without understanding, then is it good not to know. Truly I say to you, that bread is not so good for the temporal life as is learning for the eternal life. Know you not that it is a precept of God to learn? For thus says God: Ask of your elders, and they shall teach you. And of the Law says God: See that my precept be before your eyes, and when you sit down, and when you walk, and at all times meditate thereon. Whether, then, it is good not to learn, you may now know. Oh, unhappy he who despises wisdom, for he is sure to lose eternal life." (Gospel of Barnabas, Ch 78)

It seems that some of the followers of Jesus (upon whom be peace), dazzled by his miracles, started calling him God. However, Jesus (upon whom be peace) explained to them how he was just a human being by way of reasoning:

Then Jesus, having lifted his hand in token of silence, said: "Truly you have erred greatly, O Israelites, in calling me, a man, your God. And I fear that God may for this give heavy plague upon the holy city, handing it over in servitude to strangers. O a thousand times accursed Satan, that has moved you to this!"

And having said this, Jesus smote his face with both his hands, whereupon arose such a noise of weeping that none could hear what Jesus was saying. Whereupon once more he lifted up his hand in token of silence, and the people being quieted from their weeping, he spoke once more: "I confess before heaven, and I call to witness everything that dwells upon the earth, that I am a stranger to all that you have said; seeing that I am man, born of mortal woman, subject to the judgment of God, suffering the miseries of eating and sleeping, of cold and heat, like other men. Whereupon when God shall come to judge, my words like a sword shall pierce each one [of them] that believe me to be more than man." (Gospel of Barnabas, Ch 93)

To this did Satan desire to reduce you, O brethren, in making you believe me to be God; because, I not being able to create a fly, and being passable and mortal, I can give you nothing of use, seeing that I myself have need of everything. How, then, could I help you in all things, as it is proper to God to do? (Gospel of Barnabas, Ch 128)

Jesus (upon whom be peace) put so much emphasis on reason saying that those who have weak intellect cannot receive truth. He also equated reason with a light that helps man to distinguish right from wrong:

The fruit of vain talking is this, that it weakens the intellect in such wise that it is not ready to receive the truth; even as a horse accustomed to carry but one ounce of cotton flock cannot carry an hundred pounds of stone. (Gospel of Barnabas, Ch 120)

God, having thus created man, put into him a light which is called reason; which was to unite the flesh, the sense, and the soul in a single end to work for the service of God. (Gospel of Barnabas, Ch 123)

Thus it is necessary that by the mercy of God man's reason be enlightened afresh, to know good from evil and [to distinguish] the true delight: knowing which, the sinner is converted to penitence. (Gospel of Barnabas, Ch 123)

And finally, we would like to say that according to Jesus (upon whom be peace) one would surely follow God’s law if he followed his reason:

Then Jesus wept and said: 'Even so, truly, are the lovers of the world. For if they lived according to reason, which holds a middle place in man, they would follow the Law of God, and would be saved from eternal death. But because they follow the flesh and the world they are frenzied, and cruel enemies of their own selves, striving to live more arrogantly and more lasciviously than one another.' (Gospel of Barnabas, Ch 141)