Journal Of Islamic Denominations

Journal Of Islamic Denominations

An Analysis of the Conflict Between Reason and Revelation in Ibn Taymiyya al-Ḥarrānī’s Intellectual Framework

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
reza shojaeimehr 1
Mostafa Jaffar tayarri 2
1 PhD, Shiite Studies, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Shiite Studies, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran
10.22034/jid.2024.81578.1351
Abstract
In Islamic thought, two methods—rational (ʿaqlī) and transmitted (naqlī)—are employed to decode and attain the purposes and knowledge of religion. Often, these two methods complement one another. Although the Quran and the Sunnah, beyond their transmitted teachings, encompass numerous rational arguments, the scope of reason's authority in religious knowledge remains a point of contention and debate among Muslim sects. A definitive and authoritative transmitted proof never contradicts conclusive reason; however, scholars differ on which to prioritize in cases of apparent conflict. Ibn Taymiyya al-Ḥarrānī, a prominent scholar of the Ahl al-Ḥadīth, while praising reason, ultimately favors transmission in the event of a conflict between reason and revelation, thereby adopting a dual stance on this matter. This article, in addition to re-examining Ibn Taymiyya’s intellectual foundations, investigates the position of reason in his view. It concludes that, in cases of conflict between reason and revelation, Ibn Taymiyya advocates for the plurality of reason and, by disregarding verses and hadiths that address reason and rational inferences, bases his intellectual system solely on the two primary sources of Islamic law—the Book and the Sunnah.
Keywords
reason and revelation
Ibn Taymiyya
hermeneutics
anti-rationalism
Subjects
The Noble Quran.
 
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