Documents of the Right Word

10- “The intellect does the thing it finds useful and does not do
the thing it thinks harmful. When it cannot understand whether
something is useful or harmful, it does it when there is need to do
it. In view of this function of the intellect, sending Prophets is
unnecessary.”
Answer: There are many things which are misunderstood or
which cannot be understood by the intellect, and they have to be
taught by Prophets. A Prophet is like a specialized doctor. He
knows the effects of medicines well. Effects of some medicines
might be found by laymen through the intellect after long
experiences, but men of intellect might face risks and harms
before learning them, and it would require a great deal of time
and work. They would have no time left for using their intellect in
doing other necessary jobs. By giving the doctor a little
recompense, however, they attain the benefits of medicines and
rid themselves of their illnesses. To say that Prophets are
unnecessary is like saying that doctors are unnecessary. Since the
commandments taught by a Prophet are wahy revealed by Allâhu
ta’âlâ, they are all true and beneficial. The doctor’s knowledge,
although being the result of thought and experience, cannot be
said to be wholly true.
11- “The mu’jiza’s existence is not admissible. Since it is a
wonder outside of normal events, it is not something which the
intellect can accept. For this reason, prophethood is not something
reasonable, either.”
Answer: Creation of earths and heavens from nothing has much
more wonder in it than a mu’jiza does. If it is impossible for certain
things to happen outside of the laws of nature, this does not mean
that wonders cannot happen outside of these laws. Wonders have
happened through Prophets and Awliyâ’ for centuries. A man of
intellect cannot deny these events. A mu’jiza is intended to
demonstrate that a Prophet has told the truth. It has to be a wonder;
something done within the laws of nature cannot be a mu’jiza.
12- “A mu’jiza cannot prove that a Prophet is telling the truth.
It is not certain whether a mu’jiza is created by Allah or made by
a Prophet himself. Magic is a wonder, too. You also believe in
magic and incantation.”
Answer: The intellect putting forward various possibilities, i.e.
hypotheses and theories, does not refute the knowledge acquired
by the sense organs or experimentation. The occurence of a certain
thing does not prevent us from thinking of its nonexistence. Allâhu
ta’âlâ, alone, is the One who effects everything’s coming into
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