And He, exalted be He, also says: “They will say, ‘Had we but listened or reasoned, we would not have been among the companions of the Blaze’” (al-Mulk 11). In this they acknowledge that they had failed to act upon the requirements of both hearing and intellect.

He likewise says: “Indeed in that are signs for a people who listen” (Yunus 67), and: “Indeed in that are signs for a people who understand” (al-Raʿd 4). And He says: “Do they not then contemplate the Quran, or are hearts locked upon them?” (Muhammad 25), thereby calling them to hear it with their ears and ponder it with their minds. Similar is His statement: “Have they not reflected upon the Word?” (al-Muʾminun 69). And He, the Most High, says: “Surely in that is a reminder for whoever possesses a heart or lends an ear while being fully attentive” (Qaf 37).

Thus Allah has combined hearing and reason, establishing His proof against His servants through both; the one can never be separated from the other. The revealed Book and the perceiving intellect are together Allah’s argument against His creation. Yet His Book is the supreme proof, for it has made known to us matters that our minds could never have reached on their own. No one may turn away from it, nor resort to anything else when seeking knowledge of the unknown, clarity in what is problematic, or light upon what is obscure. Whoever strays from it must return to it, and whoever rejects its judgment will still be obliged to use it when arguing with an opponent, for in truth it shows the rational paths and the certain knowledges that the servants need most. Whoever—while claiming research and reflection—rejects its ruling and dismisses its verdict has only been obstinate and defiant, and there remains no means to teach him, debate with him, or establish the truth before him.

Nor may anyone say, “I am dissatisfied with its judgment; I shall rely on reason instead,” for whenever he rejects its ruling he has in fact rejected sound reason itself and opposed both Scripture and intellect.

Those short-sighted with respect to both intellect and revelation who allege that reason must be given precedence over transmitted texts whenever the two seem to conflict have been misled only by their ignorance of what true reason declares and what authentic revelation dictates. They deemed rational what is not rational at all; in reality their position consists of doubtful notions that they merely imagined to be reason