Rejection of Reason and the

Fall of the Empire

How the Prohibition of Reason Made it
Hard to Follow Revelation
Leslie Terebessy

Abstract ................................................................................................ 2
Prologue .............................................................................................. 3
Preface.................................................................................................. 6
Reason.................................................................................................. 8
Reasoning Is Permitted................................................................... 9
Blending Tradition with Revelation .......................................... 10
Relationship Between Revelation and Tradition ................... 13
Rejection of Reason Reduced Knowledge of Revelation .... 14
Reduced Knowledge of Revelation Reduced Guidance ..... 15
Misunderstanding Key Terms .................................................... 17
Vilification of Reason and the Veneration of Jurists............... 17
Repression of Reason ..................................................................... 19
Emergence of Mysticism............................................................... 21
Breakdown of Rational Analysis .................................................22
Failure of Reason in Politics.........................................................24
Paralysis in Thought ......................................................................24
Rejection of Actions and Reactions............................................24
Abrogation ........................................................................................25
Expunging of Justice from the Knowledge of Revelation ...32
Fatalism .............................................................................................33
Recommendations .........................................................................35

Abstract
The fall of the Muslim civilization resulted from the rejection of
reason. The rejection of reason was a result of the characterization
of the use of reason to know revelation as kufr. The rejection of
reason became explicit in the shutting of the gates to ijtihad and
was reinforced by al-Ghazali’s attack on philosophers.
The rejection of reason found political expression in the repression
of the rationalists by Musa al-Hadi in 786. The slaughter of five-
thousand philosophers was an event analogous to the Reign of
Terror of the Jacobins, under Maximilien Robespierre during the
French Revolution. Sixteen thousand followers of “tradition”
were beheaded at the guillotine with the emergence of the Age of
Reason, touted by the European Enlightenment, a millennium
afterwards.
In Islam, the rejection of reason made it harder to understand and
follow revelation. The perception that “all knowledge is in the
Quran” did not help matters. This was an example of perfunctory
thought. For it automatically withheld the designation of
“knowledge” from all knowledge not in the Quran. This
perception was based on a problematic understanding of
epistemology or what constitutes knowledge. It was a reflection of
hubris.

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In response to the bewilderment caused the prohibition of the use
of reason, exegetes alleged that revelation features “ambiguous”
passages. The rejection of reason made it hard to know and follow
revelation. It also made it hard to understand key terms as
“mutashabihat,” “hikma,” and “hawa.”
As a result, Muslims turned to tradition, which replaced reason for
the purpose of explaining revelation. But to “explain” revelation,
tradition had to be elevated to an “equal” of revelation and
subsequently even “above” revelation.
For the expectation that it would “explain” revelation placed
tradition in the position of a “judge” of revelation. The elevation of
tradition above revelation reversed the relation of revelation and
tradition. The word of God was subordinated to the words of
persons.
The reversal of the relationship between revelation and tradition
facilitated the adoption of the teaching of abrogation. The
abrogation of the peace verses by the ayah as-sayf transformed
Islam into “political Islam.”
The abrogation of revelation by tradition transformed Islam into
“traditional Islam.” The application of the teaching of abrogation
warped penal law. The abrogation of revelation by tradition
subjugated revelation to tradition.
Hence, the process that led to this requires attention. It is necessary
to restore revelation to its pre-eminence in relation to tradition, to
rehabilitate reason, and to ensure that all laws are in agreement
with revelation rather than based on inclination.
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