This, however, does not prevent a person from seeking the appropriate wisdom, for he knows that all the commands and prohibitions of the Sacred Law are based on wisdom. What, then, is that wisdom? A person’s asking about the wisdom behind religious rulings or punitive rulings is permissible; indeed, it may be required if the aim is to gain knowledge. Thus, when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said concerning women, “You are the majority of the inhabitants of the Fire,” they asked, “Why, O Messenger of Allah?” They asked about the reason, and he replied, “Because you frequently curse and are ungrateful to your husbands.” (1)

However, if his intention is that he will comply only if the underlying reason becomes clear to him, and otherwise will not, then such questioning is unlawful. Its consequence is that he accepts the truth only when it accords with his desires; otherwise, he does not.

The scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, differed, from the standpoint of rational consideration, over the rationale for the prohibition against praying in camel resting-places. (2) Some of them said: We do not know the wisdom behind it. A legal ruling whose wisdom is unknown is termed ta‘abbudī by the scholars—that is, a matter of devotional submission. Thus, its wisdom is to realize worship through submission to Allah, whether or not we know the wisdom behind it. By Allah, this is a tremendous wisdom.

As for throwing pebbles at the sites of the Jamarat during Hajj, if someone were to ask, “What is its wisdom?” we would reply: Its wisdom is devotional submission to Allah: “Circumambulation of the House, going between Safa and Marwa, and stoning the Jamarat have only been prescribed for the establishment of the remembrance of Allah.” (3) Devotional submission admits of no