“A Comparative Study of Reason and Revelation in Relation to Natural and Divine Law in al-Farabi and Ibn Rushd”

Abstract

This chapter describes al-Farabi (870–950 CE) and Ibn Rushd as both “interpret[ing] divine revelation and human reason as two forms of knowledge which complete rather than nullify each other.” Rushd recommended that in cases where “divine revelation has principle contradictions” with conclusions reached by human reason and natural science, an “allegorical interpretation of the Qur’anic words” was the best approach to resolving any such apparent conflicts. She concludes by noting that “[t]he ability of al-Ghazali to promote his own opinion in reaction to the questions raised by Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina and other Islamic philosophers, followed by Ibn Rushd’s reaffirmation of the harmony between human reason and divine revelation, and the unique dialogue that ensued—this is the cultural heritage of the classical Islamic era.” The author’s treatment of the relation between divine revelation and human reason in connection to divine and natural law, and the ability of Muslim scholars to engage these questions through open academic dialogue, hints at her own post-Soviet context.