The necessity of knowing the existence of the Creator (Glorified and Exalted be He)

Ibn Taymiyah adopts that having knowledge with Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) is an instinctive matter, therefore the Messengers came to command the creation with worshipping Allah alone and obeying His Messengers not to acquire[1] a theoretical knowledge with the existence of the Creator and the truthfulness of His Messengers as theologians and philosophers believe. However, whoever denies the truth, they (theologians and philosophers) must command him with admitting it, set the proof against him, and show his stubbornness and that he is denying the truth which he knows. Although polytheists knew that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was truthful, they denied him.[2]

That means: The natural knowledge of Allah (may He be Exalted) inside the human soul is supported and explained by the Messenger (peace be upon him), for he was the only source for introducing Allah (may He be Exalted) to whoever desires sincerely to worship Him. This cannot be denied except by a stubborn who insists on turning away in order not to see the light of the truth.

Of the things that incite the mercy, generosity, and wisdom of Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted) is that He taught man which he knew not. The first Ayahs which Allah (Glory be to Him) revealed were: "Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists), * He has created man from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood). * Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous, * Who has taught (the writing) by the pen [the first person to write was Prophet Idrees (Enoch)]. * Has taught man that which he knew not."  [Surat Al `Alaq: 1 - 5].

So, He mentioned that He is the Most Generous, which is more eloquent than the generous, and He is the most benefactor. Of His Generosity is that He taught by the pen, taught man which he knew not, so He taught him sciences by heart and made him express them by tongue.[3]

And Ibn Taymiyah moved from the explanation of these Ayahs to the result that they are a proof against those who deny Allah's Power. Whoever had seen the clot of blood then it is said to him: This clot will turn into a man who knows all sciences, he would have wondered and denied. It is well-known that turning a clot of blood into man is greater than making that man knows the commands of Allah. In other words, if Allah (may He be Exalted) taught him all these sciences, it would not be difficult for Him to teach him His Commands and information.

Therefore, Allah sent Messengers to the Children of Adam; so from the things that incite Allah's Wisdom is sending Messengers of human nature and in their tongues, for it is more perfect in wisdom and mercy. Allah (Glory be to Him) mentioned that they cannot receive revelation from an angle and if He had sent an angel, he would have send him in human form to receive revelation from him. Therefore, human beings could not see angels except in the human form as they saw Gabriel in the image of Dihyah Al Kalby.[4]

Ibn Taymiyah continued in explaining the Ayahs and proofs found in the Glorious Qur'an to teach us that they are intellectual proofs that accept no doubt, and deliver directly to the proof without introductions as logicians do. Moreover, he summarized Dhikr in the signs found in the universe, for all creatures are signs to indicate the Lord, for there is no creature but it is a sign on Allah and a proof to His Entity, Qualities, and Oneness.[5]

Shaykhul-Islam drew our attentions to the intellectual features of the Shari`ah proofs, and if these Shari`ah-based texts are intellectual, Ibn Taymiyah justifies the idea of separating reason from the Shari`ah by shortage in understanding and estimating what the Prophet (peace be upon him) brought, where theologians and philosophers separated between reason and the Shari`ah, then dispute took place in directing these intellectual matters to Allah, His Oneness, and fundamentals of the religion:

Is it obligatory and done according to the Shari`ah?

Or is it obligatory by the Shari`ah but should be done by reason?

Or is it obligatory and should be done by reason?

According to three views:

After viewing the different views and their attribution to their owners, he decided that the most correct view is that actions include descriptions which entail their goodness and obligation or entail their ugliness and prohibition which is only known by reason. Allah never tortures anyone but after he receives the message of Islam as He says: "And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger (to give warning)." [Surat Al Isra': 15].

And of the things which add more clarity is that most people admit that practical rulings are known also by reason. By reason a person knows good from bad, so intellectual proofs indicate practical rulings; it is permissible to call them Shari`ah-based because the Shari`ah decided, approved, indicated, or guided to them.[6]

So, how can we describe the proofs of practical rulings as intellectual besides they are Shari`ah-based. It is not justified to give the same description to the proofs of the fundamentals of religion which include the most important demands such as proving the existence of the Lord (Glory be to Him), His Oneness, the truthfulness of His Messengers, and His Ability to resurrect them.

They are more entitled to be intellectual and Shari`ah-based at the same time. The Prophet (peace be upon him) explained the proofs and arguments, and Muslims have to follow him in all the issues of the fundamentals of religion as they follow him in branch issues i.e., juristic issues in the acts of worship and in transactions.[7]

The main motive for Ibn Taymiyah from all the previous was convincing theologians and philosophers that the proofs of the Qur'an and the Sunnah are enough by their own to know the Islamic creed and using them as proofs before the opponents. He is the originator of the idea stating that all Shari`ah-based proofs are intellectual in themselves i.e., coming from the Shari`ah and use them through reason as will come in details. Hence, there is no distinction between the Shari`ah and reason, and there is no need to create proofs extracted from the Greek Philosophy to use them in debate and intellectual argumentation. This separation did not come up but after the first three favorite generations where their people were fully aware of the texts of the Qur'an and the Sunnah.

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[1] P. 35 An-Nubuwwat.

[2] The meaning of acquiring theoretical knowledge is the method which theologians invented where they used some terms such as novelty and oldness, and used some Greek philosophical terms, believing that they will use them to prove the soundness of Islamic creed in terms of proving the existence of Allah (Glory be to Him) and novelty of the world.

[3] An-Nubuwwat P. 163.

[4] IBID, P. 164.

[5] IBID, P. 175.

[6] From the context of viewing opinions, he adopted that knowing Allah (Glory be to Him), His Oneness, and the fundamentals of religion are obligatory and should be obtained by the Shari`ah, with abidance by the division adopted by the Shari`ah in terms of hearing and intellectual branches; and mostly there is a match between both proofs.

In juristic issues such as the acts of worship and transactions, there is no lawful and prohibited except by the commands of the Shari`ah.

[7] Ibn Taymiyah explains the word Sunnah in its inclusive meaning, for the Sunnah which must be followed is the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) which is mentioned in the fundamentals and creeds and mentioned also in actions and acts of worship, and both are included in what he informed and commanded. P. 63 An-Nubuwwat.