as Allah related concerning the people of Noah:
‘And whenever I called them so that You might forgive them, they put their fingers in their ears, covered themselves with their garments, persisted, and were utterly arrogant.’
Since we know that he can recognize through reason the possibility that the message addressed to him contains his salvation and deliverance from destruction, while turning away from it by blocking his ears may lead to his ruin and destruction, it follows that reason obliges him to listen to the message and forbids him to turn away. This is the counsel of reason, not revelation.”
He said:
“A fourth proof: Rational people unanimously acknowledge the badness of lying, injustice, betrayal, and ingratitude, and the goodness of justice, fairness, truthfulness, and gratitude to one’s benefactor—whether they affirm prophethood or deny it. Thus, one finds eternalists and naturalists on a par with religious believers in this regard, indeed, even more so. This shows that they learned this through reason, not from the prophets. Once it is established that reason judges things good or bad, it follows that it also establishes prohibition and permission. The Prophet, peace be upon him, expressly affirmed this when he presented himself to the tribes.
A fifth proof: We find that praise for good conduct and blame for bad conduct are due when reason is present, but not when it is absent. Were reason not the basis for judging goodness and badness, there would be no point in singling out a rational person for blame for bad conduct and praise for good conduct. Since we find that this is indeed the case, it follows that reason entails prohibition or obligation.
A sixth proof: Accountability is impossible without reason. Thus, revealed law imposes no obligations upon us until our rational faculties have fully developed. This shows that revelation is known through reason. Since revelation is known through reason, reason precedes it, and reason itself is known independently of revealed law, it is impossible to say that revelation is the means of knowing Allah. How could that be conceived, when we cannot know from a messenger’s statement that rational inquiry is obligatory until we know that he is a messenger? Nor do we know that he is a messenger