# Why do Muslims treat reason as the enemy of tradition?

*Has the intellect been demonised? Ahl al-Hadith against Ahl al-Ra'y, and why the question is wrongly framed*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/ksqksrxndnw/s/8/
- Date: 2020-04-22 · Kind: discussion · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Shaykh Dr. Shabir Ally | Juxtaposing the Quran, Jumbling Aisha's age & Jinn Possession | MindTrap#16 (27:18–32:34)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsQKsrXndNw&t=1638s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/ksqksrxndnw/

**Topics:** Reason and revelation; Hadith in legal reasoning and hadith absolutism; Guest conversations

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Historically the Ahl al-Hadith defeated the Ahl al-Ra'y, which preserved the tradition but left reason demonised; today reason and tradition must work together. Mufti Abu Layth says asking whether one prefers reason to revelation is a false framing, since the real choice is between one understanding of the Quran and another.

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth asks whether the aql has been demonised over time, since Muslims seem to be among the few communities to use the word pejoratively. The guest returns to the balcony: Islamic history shows a great struggle between those who called themselves Ahl al-Hadith and the people of opinion, Ahl al-Ra'y, who used their aql; the champions of hadith as the antithesis of reason were victorious, and from them the traditional religion was inherited. He says this was in a way a good thing, since everyone's aql differs and Islam might otherwise have splintered into hundreds of strands, so sticking closely to the traditions preserved the tradition for us. But at the present juncture new situations require original thinking, and the aql must be applied, not against the tradition but together with it: the aql interprets the naql and the naql guides the aql, in a symbiotic relationship. Mufti says the question itself is wrongly placed and puts whoever answers it on the back foot. He compares it to asking whether one prefers Imam Malik or Abu Hanifa to the Prophet, when the imam is stating what he understands the Prophet's teaching to be, as is the hadith compiler, so like must be compared with like; likewise 'do you give your aql preference over divine guidance' is a false statement, and the real question is whether one gives one's own understanding of the Quran preference over somebody else's understanding of it.

## Sources and names cited

- Dr Shabir Ally (guest)
- aql (intellect)
- naql (transmitted tradition)
- Ahl al-Hadith
- Ahl al-Ra'y
- Imam Malik
- Abu Hanifa

## Transcript (machine tier, 27:18–32:34)

[26:52] and keeps it from going astray so this term Apple has been applied to the human intellect in the Arabic language as an indication of the ancient thought about this that the the aqil actually keeps the person from going astray and in Iran we do not find this meaning being opposed in fact on the other hand we find that the Quran is praising the Apple and is asking you after that afternoon do you not reflect do you not use your intellect and the the Quran is asking about the people who did not believe in allah subhanho wa taala

[27:30] awfully Mia Cyril fill our G but a kun Allah whom Columbia afternoon avea have they not gone have they not travelled in the earth so that they would have hearts with which they can they can think they can intellectualize so of course we're not talking about the physical heart because that's not the instrument or or organ of of intellectualization but but the quran is using language through the

[28:07] journey of the institutionalization of the d but don't you feel the apple has become demonized over time like people muslims i feel are the only I think maybe amongst the only few subset communities ever that use the word upper pejoratively like oh my god you're using your akka so this brings me back to the point I was making about standing on the balcony because from the balcony we can see that over our history there has been a great struggle between people who call themselves a little Hadees and and they

[28:47] saw themselves as being opposed to Allah and the people of opinion and the people of opinion are basically the people who are using their Apple but they were dubbed like this at love rocky now the the it's it's the people who were so much in favor of hadith but not only in favor of hadith but those who used hadith and championed it as the antithesis to Akal they are the ones who became victorious in our history and it is from them that we have basically inherited the traditional religion so in

[29:26] a way that's a great thing because we can see the tendency of the human offal to be different from one person to another yours is different from mine and ours are different from the viewers and so on so everybody's got their own opinion on things and if everybody had his own way throughout Islamic history you can even imagine that Islam would have splintered into so many hundreds of different strands that we would be lost between all of them under for a long time in Islamic history Muslims survived very well and the Islamic faith and community survived by by taking that

[30:04] narrow path in the dichotomy instead of going the way of Akko they saw that they needed to stick very closely to the traditions and so with that they have preserved for us two traditions but now we have come to a new juncture in the road where things are happening like never before we are faced with many new situations that require very new and original thinking and and with that we have to absolutely apply our Apple but right now again we should be clear that it is not apple in Contra distinction to the tradition it is our together

[30:42] together with the with the tradition that is the knuckle and Apple going together knuckle the base I mean in the street except 3d apple exactly exactly so I the way I would like to put it shake is that the vehicle interprets the knuckle and the knuckle guides the Apple yeah so the to work hand in hand the tradition it guides the intellect and the intellect interprets the tradition and and the to move forward in in a symbiotic relationship that's beautifully said often said to people when they've asked me this question that this question is

[31:21] in itself placed wrong like it's it's wrongly placed because it puts you no matter how you answer if you're gonna answer it especially in this kind of a way you're already on the backfoot it's like a kind of analogy if you like is to say something when some people have said oh well imam abu hanifa has said this as an example or imam malik I said these oh but the prophet has said this who do you take preference to now that is a you know that is a false statement because

[31:59] in essence what you ought to be saying is imam malik according to this teaching of the Prophet is saying this and such and such according or Imam hadees which who has documented the teaching of the Prophet says this which Sunnah do you go with like you put like against like to kind of miss out one of those is it's so catastrophic in this particular context now similarly when we say oh do you give our color preference over divine guidance that's wrongly that's a false statement

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment KsQKsrXndNw/s/8. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/ksqksrxndnw/s/8/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.