[The Impossibility of the Quran Conflicting with Intellect]

It is necessary to pay attention to the reality that the Quran, by virtue of having been issued from Allah, is not in conflict with intellect; because intellect, like the Quran, has also been issued from Allah, and there is no contradiction among the creations of Allah due to His oneness; as He has said: ﴿مَا تَرَى فِي خَلْقِ الرَّحْمَنِ مِنْ تَفَاوُتٍ﴾[1]; “You do not see any discrepancy in the creation of the Most Gracious.” Likewise, Allah Himself is intellectual[2], and He has revealed His Book to an intellectual Prophet and addressed intellectuals in it. Therefore, it is impossible for His Book to conflict with intellect. Accordingly, understanding the Book of Allah is possible based on intellect, and interpreting it contrary to intellect is impermissible and leads to deviation from its intended meaning—just as some of the Ahl al-Hadith, due to denying the authority of intellect and turning away from it, by citing Allah’s words about His settling on the throne, have considered Him to be in the upward direction, and by citing His words about “hand” and “face,” have imagined Him to have an actual hand and face. However, the existence of actual direction and limbs for Allah is contrary to the necessity of intellect; because the existence of actual direction and limbs is one of the characteristics of a body, which fills a space, empties a space, and is subject to decomposition and composition—whereas it is certain that Allah is not a body, does not fill a space or empty a space, and is not subject to decomposition or composition. Therefore, most of the Ahl al-Hadith, under weak intellectual pressure from individuals such as Abu al-Hasan al-Ash‘ari (d. 324 AH), while affirming the existence of actual direction and limbs for Allah, have considered their modality unknown to themselves, so that in this way, they may get out of the abyss of anthropomorphism, according to their supposition. However, they do not get out of the abyss of anthropomorphism in this way; because to regard direction and limbs as actual for Allah is itself a form of specifying their modality, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Thus, saying “without knowing how or what”[3] afterward is like saying “sweet” after drinking snake venom—it does not sweeten the mouth! Rather, this view is undoubtedly anthropomorphism itself, wrapped in deceptive and meaningless words;