Islams Reformers

evolts and rises against his own legitimate government. Hence, all
the scientific teachings are practicable in things which reason can
comprehend. It is wrong to base something that will either bring
eternal felicity or incur endless torment on these teachings, or to
attempt to solve the matters pertaining to the next world within
these teachings. These most important matters are beyond the
limits of reason and scientific knowledge. Not to learn this most
necessary knowledge from prophets and to try to solve it with
worldly knowledge will mean to pass the time on trivial and even
absurd things. For, worldly knowledge is not useful in matters
which the reason cannot comprehend and which can be
comprehended only through prophets’ revelation. Al-Imâm al-
Ghazâlî says in his Al-munqidh min ad-dalâl, ‘Ancient Greek
philosophers stole medical and astronomical knowledge from the
books of ancient prophets. And they learned moral and
educational methods by seeing them in the men of Tasawwuf
among ancient ummas.”
“Philosophers, whose religious talks are based on their
personal reasoning, materialists and those who have deviated from
the right course by trying to solve the knowledge pertaining to the
next world with their own mind are regarded as scholars by many
people. By attributing to them gilted, false titles such as reformer,
mujtahid, advanced man of religion or martyr, they suggest their
destructive words and books to the youngsters. In fact, they regard
their corrupt and mendacious words superior to the teachings
which the Ahl as-sunna scholars have derived from the Qur’ân and
the Hadîth. May Allâhu ta’âlâ protect Muslims from their harms!
It is a fatal mistake to look on religion reformers as religious
scholars.
“Knowledge and science are procedures followed to learn the
inner essence of things. Statements which spoil Islam and which
cannot assess the value of Islamic knowledge cannot be said to be
of knowledge and science. Something which causes the denial of
prophets cannot be knowledge. The discoveries and the branches
of knowledge and science in the twentieth century do not cause the
denial of those Islamic teachings that are within mind’s grasp.
They strengthen Islam. It is harmful to use knowledge and science
against religious knowledge, which is beyond mind’s grasp. This
subtlety should be comprehended well. The ignorant people,
egoists and people hooked on their lusts and pleasures use
– 296 –