Does Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani give precedence to the intellect over Sharia and believe that we should follow the intellect if it conflicts with Sharia?
This is a common question that arises from the belief that the intellect and Sharia may be in conflict, and therefore, following one implies not following the other. However, this belief is false; because both the intellect and Sharia are proofs from Allah Almighty, and His proofs do not conflict with one another, and therefore, there is no meaning or need to give precedence to one over the other. Yes, the intellect takes precedence over Sharia in the sense that Sharia is known by the intellect, and this is forced precedence based on the fact that the intellect is an internal proof and Sharia is an external proof, and what is external can be comprehended only by what is internal. It is clear that this precedence of the intellect does not necessitate its conflict with Sharia, but it necessitates that anything conflicting with the intellect must be judged as not being part of Sharia, even if it is attributed to it; because it is clear that not everything attributed to Sharia is actually part of it, and to know the reality of Sharia, there is no way but to use the intellect; as the intellect cannot know the reality of Sharia except when it is free from ignorance, imitation, passions, worldliness, fanaticism, arrogance, and superstition. That is why you see disbelievers and sinners thinking of the clearest beliefs and rulings of Sharia as unreasonable, even though they are entirely reasonable, but they are ignorant of the evidence and wisdom behind them, follow their own passions, or perceive through the lens of fanaticism and arrogance.
Furthermore, this does not mean that the intellect knows all the rulings of Sharia directly; because many rulings of Sharia, especially the acts of worship, are merely the considerations of the Legislator, and it is not possible to know the considerations of an individual except by hearing from him; because there are numerous actions that it is permissible for him to take into consideration, and there is no impediment from the intellect to any of them; as it was permissible for Allah Almighty to consider the morning prayer as two, three, or four rak‘ats, and there was no impediment from the intellect to any of them. Therefore, to know the number of the rak‘ats of the morning prayer, there was no way but to go to His Messenger to inform of it. Based on this, both the intellect and Sharia are necessary, and neither of them can make one free of the need for the other, and each of them has a role in cognition. This is what Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani has explained in his book Return to Islam and in many of his pure sayings; as one of our companions informed us, he said:
«سَمِعْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ الْهَاشِمِيَّ الْخُرَاسَانِيَّ يَقُولُ: الْعَقْلُ مَاٰلُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ، وَكُلُّ مَعْرِفَةٍ لَا تَؤُولُ إِلَى الْعَقْلِ فَجَهْلٌ عَلَى جَهْلٍ، قُلْتُ: عِنْدَنَا قَوْمٌ يَتَبَرَّؤُونَ مِنَ الْعَقْلِ! قَالَ: وَهَلْ يَتَبَرَّءُ مِنَ الْعَقْلِ إِلَّا مَجْنُونٌ؟! قُلْتُ: إِنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ مَاٰلُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ الْكِتَابُ وَالسُّنَّةُ! قَالَ: وَهَلْ يُعْرَفُ الْكِتَابُ وَالسُّنَّةُ إِلَّا بِالْعَقْلِ؟! الْعَقْلُ أَصْلُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ، وَالْكِتَابُ وَالسُّنَّةُ سُوقُهَا، وَالْخُلَفَاءُ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَغْصَانُهَا، فَمَنْ تَرَكَ الْعَقْلَ فَقَدْ قَطَعَ أَصْلَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ، وَمَنْ تَرَكَ الْكِتَابَ وَالسُّنَّةَ فَقَدْ قَطَعَ سُوقَهَا، وَمَنْ تَرَكَ الْخُلَفَاءَ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَقَدْ قَطَعَ أَغْصَانَهَا، وَكُلٌّ مَحْرُومُونَ مِنْ أُكُلِهَا وَثَمَرَتِهَا»[1]; “I heard Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani say: The intellect is the returning point of cognition, and any cognition that does not return to the intellect is ignorance upon another ignorance. I said: There are some people with us who averse to the intellect! He said: And is anyone but a madman averse to the intellect?! I said: They say the returning point of cognition is the Book and the Sunnah! He said: And are the Book and the Sunnah known by anything other than the intellect?! The intellect is the root of cognition, the Book and Sunnah are its trunk, and the Caliphs on the earth are its branches; so whoever abandons the intellect has cut off the root of cognition, whoever abandons the Book and the Sunnah has cut off its trunk, and whoever abandons the Caliphs on the earth has cut off its branches, and they all are deprived of its crop and fruit.”