and the second is expressed in the statement of groups of our fellow scholars and others: “The intellect is a kind of necessary knowledge.”

Both are correct. The intellect in the heart is like sight in the eye: sometimes “sight” means perception itself, and sometimes it means the faculty Allah has placed in the eye through which perception occurs. The servant’s knowledge and perception, as well as his knowledge and movement, are each a form of activity, and each has its corresponding power. There is no might or power except through Allah.

Thus, you find that sound Sufi shaykhs recommend knowledge and enjoin adherence to it, just as sound scholars recommend action and enjoin it. This is because, in each path, there is a fear of neglecting what is obligatory in the other.

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Likewise, losing one’s reason through intoxication is akin to losing it through fainting, insanity, and similar conditions. Believers are never commanded to do this under any circumstances, nor is it commended