The Priority of Thought (Nazar) in Acquiring Religious-Itikadi Knowledge According to Ibn Al-Malahimi

Abstract

Ibn al-Malahimi, a pure Mu'tazilite theologian belonging to the Husayniyya school, wrote refutations against Muslim philosophers during almost the same period as al-Ghazali. He also wrote systematic works on Mu'tazilite theology. Ibn al-Malahimi's defense of reason in obtaining religious knowledge is noteworthy. According to him, thought (nazar) and rational deduction are the most reliable ways to know the existence of the Creator, while other means, such as necessity, imitation, narration, tawatur, inspiration, purification, teaching, senses, conscience/nature alone cannot lead to knowledge of God. In Mu'tazilite thought, knowledge of God is the first duty and an intellectual responsibility. Thus, thought is considered a moral obligation. This means that the benefits of knowing Allah and the harms of not knowing are known intellectually. If a person abandons the thought, he fears that he will be harmed based on what he hears, sees,and knows, that is, in the short life experience he has lived. Resorting to a remedy to dispel fear is a requirement of reason. Therefore, The thoght that leads to knowing Allah is necessary because it has the possibility of removing the harm from the person. Ibn al-Malahimi, who firmly believed that thoght provides certain knowledge, says that no one claims the absence of necessary knowledge. According to him, it is impossible to refuse necessary knowledge and it is also impossible to acquire knowledge that has been fully accepted by rational individuals. Acquired knowledge is either a consequence of necessary knowledge or based on necessary knowledge from an angle. If thought did not provide knowledge, then all or part of necessary and acquired knowledge based on it would also have to be denied. In this regard, he criticizes the Sophists who deny necessary knowledge, the Sumaniyya who claim that thought is not an absolute method of reaching knowledge, and the Geometricians who assert that metaphysics does not provide knowledge. He claims that correct thought based on evidence, whether natural or religious knowledge, leads to knowledge, no matter how it is described. After expressing his firm belief in the value of right thought as a source of knowledge, Ibn al-Malahimi criticizes those who adopt other methods to attain knowledge of Allah and then presents his own view on the grounds. According to him, thought ultimately means acquired knowledge. Therefore, the only reliable way to obtain acquired knowledge is the right thought, and consequently, the taxpayer is solely responsible for the thought. In other words, as long as the offer continues, Allah cannot be known necessarily. Ibn al-Malahimi believes that reason is the only source of certain knowledge in metaphysics. Based on this trust in reason, he thinks that faith, which must rely on certain knowledge, should be based on intellectual and rational deduction. He argues that conjecture and imitation cannot be the subject of the offer of faith since it is not possible to be sure that it provides precise information and knowledge. He finds it meaningless for God to hold man responsible for imitation since it accepts that the act subject to the offer should not be bad in any way as a condition of the offer. He states that Allah does not command evil and evidence-based knowledge is a blessing because reasoning is beautiful; on the other hand, he said that conjecture and imitation are bad because they contain ignorance and therefore no grace. Therefore, according to him, the taxpayer is not responsible for them since it is not good to be held responsible for conjecture and imitation, According to Ibn al-Malahimi, the way to obtain acquired knowledge is not through the combination of narration and reason but rather through reason alone. The value of narration evidence can only be realized after a rational deduction. The evidential value of narration cannot be discussed without knowing through rational deduction about Allah's existence, wisdom, justice of Allah, the possibility of revelation/prophethood and the fact that the ummah will not agree on a falsehood. Therefore, according to him, reasoning is the first obligation, and this is a rational duty. Based on the fact that it is impossible to know Allah through necessary knowledge, senses, imitation, or mere narration, Ibn al-Malahimi argues that there is no other way to know Him than thought, and therefore, reasoning is a necessity. Ibn al-Malahimi believes that Allah will be known not through sensory means but through evidence and judgment. According to him, Allah has no other essence other than the truth that we reach with this method. When we know the essence of Allah with all of its verdicts and attributes, we also know its essence and truth. His basic principle is that it is not possible to prove things that cannot be known in personality or by any means. Ibn al-Malahimi thinks that accepting the existence of unknown essences will cause endless ignorance. In the same way, he says that seeing the existence of unknowable things as possible will destroy the trust in knowledge and obligatory and acquired knowledge will be invalid.