Likewise, for Sharia to be able to prove the authority of the intellect, its own authority must first be established; because its authority is not clearer than the authority of the intellect, while there is no instrument other than the intellect to prove its authority, and proving its authority by itself is also meaningless. Yes, the intellect proves the authority of Sharia and thus encompasses it when considered the criterion for knowing. Therefore, it is not necessary to mention Sharia alongside it as the criterion for knowing; it is only the mention of the specific alongside the general, or the necessary alongside the necessitated, for emphasis; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿أَمْ تَحْسَبُ أَنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ يَسْمَعُونَ أَوْ يَعْقِلُونَ ۚ إِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا كَالْأَنْعَامِ ۖ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ سَبِيلًا﴾[1]; “Or do you think that most of them will listen or use the intellect?! They are but like cattle; they are even more astray,” and He has said: ﴿وَقَالُوا لَوْ كُنَّا نَسْمَعُ أَوْ نَعْقِلُ مَا كُنَّا فِي أَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ﴾[2]; “And they say: ‘If we had listened or used the intellect, we would not have been among the companions of the fire,’” and He has said: ﴿أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ فَتَكُونَ لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ يَعْقِلُونَ بِهَا أَوْ آذَانٌ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا ۖ فَإِنَّهَا لَا تَعْمَى الْأَبْصَارُ وَلَكِنْ تَعْمَى الْقُلُوبُ الَّتِي فِي الصُّدُورِ﴾[3]; “Did they then not travel through the Earth so that they might have hearts with which they understand, or ears with which they listen?! So undoubtedly, the eyes are not blind, but the hearts within the chests are blind”; considering that listening is manifested in acting upon Sharia, and this correlates with the use of the intellect; because it cannot be done without using the intellect, which is referred to as “the heart” in the Book of Allah Almighty.

From here, it can be said that those who doubt or deny the authority of the intellect are, in fact, doing nothing other than proving it; because doubting or denying the authority of the intellect is impossible without the authority of the intellect, and negating it necessitates proving it!

Deniers of the Authority of the Intellect

The authority of the intellect and its being the criterion for knowing are among the essential issues about which doubt is meaningless. Nevertheless, from long ago to the present, there have been people who have doubted and even denied them.