Sources of

Knowledge

IMPORTANT QUOTE

“Confusing the uncustomary and the ‘unfamiliar’ with the impossible leads to

many errors.”

TWO IMPORTANT RULES

a. The Law of Contradiction: A thing cannot both be – and not be— in the same regard at the same time.

b. A thing cannot be contrary to definition.

Below are the definitions for the words on the document

tasbih - is a form of dhikr that involves the repetitive utterances of short sentences in the praise and glorification of Allah

Isra’ and Mi’raj - The night journey and the ascension of Prophet Muhammad

karamat - extraordinary event done by a wali

wali/plural awliya - a special status reached by a pious Muslim

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Sources of Knowledge The Rational Judgments I. The Sound Senses (5)

A. HearingB. SightC. SmellD. TasteE. Touch

II. The True Narration (2)

A. Mutawatir Report1. An incident that is witnessed and transmitted by a large number of people and passed down by numerous channels of transmission in such a way that all of those people could not agree to lie.

III. The Reason (Sound Intellect)

A. Knowledge attained by intuition*

1. For example, the whole must be greater than its parts

B. Knowledge gained by inference

1. If X>Y, and Y>Z, then necessarily: X>Z

*Intuition here does not mean “a feeling”. Rather, it means something that is known without demonstration (i.e., it is known by natural intelligence or ‘common sense’ and doesn’t require a complex reasoning process)

B. The Prophetic Report1. The one who is a Prophet proves he is so by the performance of a miracle

a. The miracle is:

• Extraordinary• Performed by the one who says he is a prophet• An act that can’t be matched or done by an opponent• An act that occurs in the way that the Prophet says it will

b. Prophet Muhammad performed many miracle – some have been transmitted by Mutawatir

• The Holy Qur’an• The water springing from between the Prophet’s fingers• The moaning tree trunk

Other Miracles

• The Isra’ and Mi’raj• The animals testifying to his Prophethood• Feeding many from small containers of food• Miraculous healing• The illuminated staffs• The transformation of the people’s hearts of the Arab (and other) people• The food making the sound of tasbih• Filling the dry or brackish wells with potable water• The acceptance of the Prophet’s supplications (du^a)• Witnessing distant events (e.g., An-Najashi’s death / the lost camel)• Prophecy

I. The Rational Necessity (refers to Allah and His attributes)

A. The One (and His attributes) whose non-existence is rejected by reason (i.e., the sound mind)

B. Reason necessitates the recognition of the Creator Who has Perfect, Befitting Attributes, such as:

1. Oneness (Dalil At-Tamanu^)2. Eternality3. Transcendence (i.e., Absolute Freedom From Need)4. Incomparability5. Knowledge, Power, and Will, etc.

II. The Rational Impossibility

A. That which the mind does not accept [its existence] as a reality1. Examples: A square circle2. A daughter giving birth to her own mother

III. The Rational Possibility

A. That which reason accepts [its existence] at one time, and non-existence at another (this refers to the entire creation)1. This entails the entire creation, including the customary and uncustomary events2. The miracles of the Prophets and karamat of the awliya’ are not impossible; they are contrary-to-customa. The causes do not create the result (effect); Allah is the Creator of all causes and results