In any case, those who deny the authority of the intellect cannot possibly prove their claim; because it is impossible to prove any claim without the authority of the intellect. Therefore, they are arguing by the intellect without realizing it; because, for example, to argue that the intellect is limited and that arguing by what is limited is not permissible is a rational argument, and therefore, if arguing by the intellect is not permissible, this argument is also not permissible, and if arguing by the intellect is permissible, this argument is wrong!

As a result, propaganda against the intellect is the work of Satan to pave the way for the spread of ignorance in the world, and anyone who propagates against the intellect is among the party of Satan and his soldiers, who, willingly or unwillingly, is serving him and is at war with Allah.

The Difference Between the Intellect and Philosophy

The point that must be made here is that some assume that what is meant by the intellect is philosophy, and therefore they oppose it. However, this thought is incorrect; because the intellect is a faculty granted by Allah for the correct comprehension of concepts and their instances, shared among all human beings and not exclusive to philosophers. In contrast, philosophy is a specific science like other human sciences, which originated in ancient Greece, was introduced to Muslims during the Abbasid period, and found both proponents and opponents. Clearly, the intellect existed before the emergence of philosophy, and philosophy is merely a new science based on the intellect, just as other sciences—such as arithmetic, geometry, and medicine—are based on the intellect, and each has employed the intellect in its own way. Therefore, every philosopher is an intellectual, but not every intellectual is a philosopher, and what is the criterion for knowing is the intellect, not philosophy. In other words, the intended meaning of the intellect, where it is considered the criterion for knowing, is the intellect typical of intellectuals, not the intellect specific to philosophers, and it is clear that rational thinking differs from philosophical thinking. Therefore, opposition to philosophy should not lead to opposition to the intellect;