The ancient logicians never mentioned prophet hood and the knowledge coming from that source. However, logicians of the later periods, based their logical premises on some of the knowledge coming from Prophets. This is done either by the Sabians who mixed Sabinism with prophets pure knowledge (Hanifiaah) like Ibn Sina (Avicenna), or through the Muslim philosophers.As for the first way, they considered the Prophets as super humans who have some special quality of gaining knowledge without logic. Their soul is suitable to acquire knowledge by intuition and guess, and that they hear and see things that the ordinary can not. This is the definition of prophet hood to them.
It is known that guess work is a type of comparison through analogy [قياس التمثيل], and hearing and seeing things are a type of dream, which many ordinary people can acquire, or even the infidels can acquire! Let alone the righteous chosen peoples and the Prophets! So, how this could be the unique distinguishing character of Prophets?! If they pertain to prophets things in a bit superlative way, then it is just like saying, a king is superior to another. This is why, these people say that: Prophet hood can be acquired, and they negate the ascend of Angels with revelation from Allah, or that Allah talked to some of His prophets. As it is narrated that some ancient among them told Moses (the son of Imran): I believe you on every items, except that the cause of every causes [علة العلل] talks with you, I can not believe you in this matter. This is why, those went astray because of this confusion, claim the similarity between Prophets or messengers and between others or even claim the superiority over prophets. This is prevalent among those who think themselves the best among species, in reality, they are the worst, most ignorant, most unjust and most infidels and hypocrites.
As for the Muslim philosophers and logicians, they say that the case of Prophets indicate the creator for this universe, and than it is possible that this creator sends messengers, and support these messengers with means to convince people. This method is closer to the method of Muslim believing scholars, although their (logicians) statements contains sorts of falsehood, either because of following the path of logic, or because of the innovative matter that they designed for themselves.
The logicians among the Jews and Christians are the same, however, the knowledge and guidance containing in the ideology of Muslim Philosophers is far better and greater than those in the People of the Book.
Both converge in believing in Prophet hood, but the Jews and Christinas believe is some of the Prophets and belie others, Sabians and Philosophers and the like, they believe in some of the attributes of Prophet hood and belie the others. So, a Philosopher among Jews or Christians falls into dual infidelity (Kufr): belying Prophet Muhammad, and belying the characterizing attribute of all of the Prophets.
To refute their claim, it can be said that: what prevents that the power of hearing or seeing of some of them is accelerated so, he hears and sees what others do not. As the Prophet –peace be upon him- said: “I see what you do not, and hear what you do not, the heaven is overloaded (from heavy weight it has to bear) – and it deserves so-, these is no space of four fingers which is not occupied by an angel standing or sitting or prostrating” [ Tirmidhi 2312, the hadith is “hasan gharib”].
Also, the well known common-sense facts, which you can not deny that many people has access to them, and not only the Prophets, how would you explain them? According to them, they do not fall into any category of the classifications of attaining knowledge through logic, that you have set for yourselves. To these kind of knowledge you know happens, yet you are unable to explain how it happens?
If you say about these knowledge that they are true, then you consent that some of the truth can be attained without logical means, and if you say: we do not know whether it is true or false, then you consent that there are so many obvious knowledge that can not be weighed in the balance of logic.
So, if you say the truth the logic does not agree with you, if you say the lie, again the logic disagree with you, and if you doubt the logic does no benefit to you!
It is well known that the balance for money was not created to weigh wood or lead, it was created to weigh gold and silver. No doubt, then, that the knowledge of the Prophets in the world of knowledge is far important that gold and silver in the world of money. So, if your logic falls short to measure such an important knowledge, then your balance is weak and at the same time unjust. Because, first it can not measure such an important knowledge, so it is weak and ignorant, and second, it rejects such a knowledge, so your balance (logic) is tyrant and unjust. The intelligent among your scholars confess the weakness of your tool, but alas, the laymen among you belie and deviate, although your own tool of logic refute you. If fact, the alteration you made to your original logic is not less serious than the alteration Jews and Christians made in their divine Books of Allah (which was in it’s origin the ultimate truth).
Also, in reality, your elders consent that your logical tool helps only in knowing general matters existing in mind, and not existing in physical reality. Proving a matter which exists in outside reality requires intermediate matters. These general things in mind, are different from the outside existence of things, nor the knowledge of the existence of such things in the outside, because every existing matter has a unique distinguishing presence, which makes it be it, and that is not something general in the mind. So, the knowledge of generalities in the mind that can be shared by many entities is not actually the knowledge of these entities in outside existence. In this way, logic falls short to prove the existence of matter in outside world.
[to be continued..]
Source: Ibn Taymiyyah, Fatawa, Vol. 9 pp. 15-19
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