The role of the mind is establish the Aqeedah with certainty and the role of the mind regarding the detailed rules(hukm) is to understand the text.The mind is not required to understand whether a divine rule(hukm) is correct or incorrect because the intellect cannot perform this function

"And We have sent down unto you (O Muhammad [saw]) the reminder (Qur'an),that you may explain to men what is sent down to them, and that they may give thought" [ Al-Nahl: 44].

So when it is said that Islam is subject to the mind, such a statement is correct. When it is likewise said that the criterion of Islam is the mind that is also correct. This is because the mind is the basis of Islam, and the understanding of Islam and acting upon it depends on the mind as a tool in this understanding and action. However, the mind has a reality, so the mind must be used according to its reality such that the process of its use is called the rational process. Part of the reality of the mind is that there must be a perceptible reality so that ration can exist. If there is no perceptible reality there will be no rational process, i.e. no use of the mind. Thus, there will be no comprehension unless there is a perceptible reality, and no thought results until there is a perceptible reality. If there is no perceptible reality, then the matter will be imaginary and delusive and not be from the intellect, thought or comprehension. Therefore the mind is not required to comprehend a reality that is not perceptible because it is impossible for it to comprehend it, i.e. it is impossible for the rational process to take place. In such a case, the mind has to accept the existence of such a reality rather than accept its nature, if its existence has been definitely proven. Or the mind rejects it utterly if its existence has not been definitely proven. Therefore, the mind is not required to comprehend the Essence of Allah because His essence is not perceptible, so it is impossible to comprehend it. Rather, it has been comprehended from the reality of the creation that they definitely have a Creator (khaaliq).

Through this, one comprehends the existence of Allah as perceptible comprehension because this existence has a reality, as indicated by the existence of the creation. The fact that the comprehended and perceptible things exist is a definite matter, because they are witnessed through sensory perception. The fact that the comprehended and perceptible things are dependent on something other than them, i.e. they have the quality of need, is a definite matter.

Solving the Great Question.

A comprehensive answer to the question of man, life and the universe and their interrelationships through enlightened thought will provide the solution to all problems. This greater problem will act as a base or point of reference to any matter or problem relating to man and life. This is so because all problems are either partial problems related to the main problem or an outcome of the main problem. Armed with an answer to this most basic question mankind individually and collectively is in a position to progress, freed up from the constant worry of finding a correct reference point for any problem.

We are looking for the basis or creed of the ideology ( way of life ) for our lives. The basis or comprehensive answer must agree with reality and can be categorically proven as correct, otherwise any answer stemming from the basis could be false.

Before solving the question we should set some ground rules:


Firstly; any answer should be comprehensive. We must have the answer to the whole question of man, life and the universe. Without this any related questions or problems stemming from life, may be left unanswered.

Any answer must agree with the reality and be a verifiable fact, to meet this criteria the answer must agree with man's nature and satisfy our mind or intellect.

To answer a question rationally requires that we limit ourselves to what we can perceive and sense. We cannot rationally assess something which is hypothetical or beyond our capacity to perceive it.
 

With these criteria in mind, we can proceed to challenge ourselves in this most important of questions. A challenge which can solve this issue with 100% certainty, or else we remain in the dark, and with the constant inefficiency and worry that doubt brings.

A Starting Point.

To solve the question of man, life and the universe let us start by observing with what we know in certainty about these three. All of the previous information we have of these three, tells us that they have certain similarities and unchanging rules. Man, life and the universe are limited, indeed all that we can perceive is limited. What we mean by limited is that it all has a starting point and an end point, and is not unlimited and infinite.

We can see that man is born and dies, and man cannot grow beyond a certain size in height and weight. All of life is similarly limited, and the earth, moon and stars likewise have a starting and end point. The life of a star or galaxy maybe a very long period of time, but they are definitely limited in that they all have a starting and ending point. The universe is a very large place but it is a finite space, and is not unlimited. No scientist has been able to bring a definite evidence that suggests the universe has no limits. So to suggest that it is infinite means that we are going beyond the bounds of what we can rationally assess. Such a thought requires us to challenge ourselves to find any example in our world of perception that is unlimited, no matter how hard we search we cannot find such an example. All we can perceive is limited and finite.

A second attribute of man, life and the universe is that all of these are needy and dependant. Needy in that to exist, they must have assistance from something else, they are not self sustaining. Man needs food and water to survive. Plants and animals similarly are dependant on a water cycle which in turn is dependant upon the sun, which is dependant upon the relationship with the galaxies, and burning mass. Nothing that we can perceive can survive independent of other things, there is nothing in our perception that is self-subsistent. So things exist but do not have power of existence.

The fact that is inextricably interwoven with these facts of being limited, finite, dependant, and needy is that ultimately there has to be a Creator or initiator for it all. The sum of all finite and dependant things is something that is finite and dependant, dependant on what? Dependant upon something to start, and sustain life, and something to plan and develop the complex interrelationship between all living things. We see things that exist without any difficulty or question, but nothing exists of its own nature as independent and in complete control of its own creation, or able to sustain itself. There can only be one solution to the question of Creation, that an unlimited Creator has accounted for all we see and perceive. Anything that is finite must have been created, otherwise it would not have come into existence. All limited things depend upon something for their sustenance. There can be no doubts over these points, challenge yourself to bring any example, all limited and dependant things are created.

A second way of looking at this argument shows that if we contemplate about all we perceive as being limited and dependant we can only explain it into two ways; either;

All we perceive depends for its existence on something else, which in turn depends on still another thing, ad infinitum, or

All we perceive derives its existence from something else that exist by its own nature and that is accordingly eternal, unlimited.

The first alternative is false because it does not provide an explanation of how anything came into existence to begin with, it simply puts off giving a reason. It does not provide a reason why finite and limited things exist, or from whence they came, it is therefore illogical, incomplete and without an answer for us. Therefore we deduce that all limited and dependant things depend upon something that exists by its own nature. The arguments start when a description or perception of the Creator is desired.


Attributes of the Creator.

When we contemplate upon the Creator, we deduce that it can only be either of three things;

Created by something else,
Creator and created at one and the same time, or
Eternal self-subsisting.

The Creator cannot be created and must be Azali(eternal). If the Creator had been created then He could not be the creator. This is because there can be nothing except a Creator and creation, which are two distinct entities. As can be seen, one of the characteristics of the Creator is that it is not created, so the Creator is that which has not been created. It is wrong to say that the Creator is the creator of something and created by something else, because the subject at hand is not about a particular thing like man or machine but about the creation and the Creator in His capacity as having come from nothing. A creator cannot be creator and created at the same time, for the Creator is an entity separate and distinct from creation. Regarding the issue of being Azali i.e. it has no start point or beginning, because a start point or beginning means that the Creator was created at a particular point in time. Being a creator means being Azali, for Azali means that all things are dependent upon it and it does not depend on anything at all. Thus, Azali and Creator is the meaning of the term Allah i.e. the Creator is Allah . Regarding the mind, those things that the mind comprehends are man, life and the universe. It has already been proven that these things are limited, meaning that they have been created. The human being is created for he grows in every aspect up to a certain point, beyond which he cannot exceed. Since man can be classified as possessing common characteristics, then there can be no difference between two individuals in terms of human characteristics. So what applies to one human being can be applied to another human being, and this generality can be applied to any object like gold, the lion from amongst the animals, or the apple from amongst the fruits. Thus, what is applicable to an object or type in general can also be applicable to all the parts of that object. For example, every man that lives will die, meaning that he is limited; and acceptance of this fact means accepting the idea that man is limited. It can also be seen that in every era, millions and millions of human beings have died and yet the number of humans have steadily increased over the ages.

This is to say that the human being as an individual may die, yet the human race still continues to flourish. So man is a specific category represented completely by individuals, all of whom possess the same human characteristics, like any other category such as water, oil, any animal or any plant. Therefore, any decision regarding any object in the reality should not be focused on its total numbers, but rather on each entity or essence within that category; and whatever applies upon each individual within that category could also be applied to the whole category, regardless of the total number of individuals in that category. Since the whole identity of the human race can be verified in a single human individual, so when one human being dies, this means that the essence or identity of that man has died. What we witness as human beings should not be considered as judgement, because it is an observation of something other than what needs to be judged upon. It is an observation of the total of individuals rather than the category, beside it is an incomplete observation. We can see that no matter how much water is taken from the seas and oceans its levels do not deplete and in the same way the oil does not deplete no matter how much oil is extracted from the earth, and also despite the increase in consumption of wheat its levels continue to rise. Looking at the sum total means that it appears these categories do not diminish, yet the reality is when one unit of any object dies or is finished, then the category as a whole is diminished. Thus when a single person dies then the human race as a whole is diminished, thus man is limited.

Life also is limited because what is witnessed by the senses is that it ends in every individual. Hence, life is limited. Life in the human being is the same as life in the animal. It cannot exist outside and independent of the individual, but resides within him. It is a matter that can be sensed but not touched. It can be differentiated between what is alive and what is dead. Thus, the sensed thing that exists in the living object and in which growth and motion are symptoms of life is manifested within any individual thing and not linked to anything else. This is the same in every living individual and is manifested in every human being. Therefore, when life ends in the individual this means that this particular life has ended, so life is limited.
 

The universe is also limited, because it is a collection of celestial bodies, and each body is limited. Since every planet has a definite size and shape, the total of limited things is always limited - no matter how many planets there are. However, the sense of limitation is not in the numbers of planets, but in the fact they have a start point and an end point i.e. a beginning and an end. The presence of a start point indicates the existence of limits. This is because anything that increases in size or age is limited, and any increase occurs due to a limit being placed on top of another limit, thus the total remains limited. Therefore, the universe itself is limited, and consequently, man, life and the universe are limited.

When we examine the limited thing, we find that it is not Azali (eternal); otherwise it would not be limited. This is because any sensed thing either has a beginning and is therefore not eternal, or has no beginning and is therefore eternal. We have already proved that every limited thing has a beginning and is therefore not eternal, because the meaning of the term Azali is that which has no beginning. So whatever has no beginning will have no end because the existence of an end clearly means the existence of a beginning. The beginning can only occur from a particular point, which means that there must also be an end point whether in time or space. This is an inevitable matter in those things that are tangible and those things that can be comprehended. Therefore, everything that has a beginning or start point also has an end or end point. The term Azali indicates that which has no beginning and no end, and hence no limited thing is Azali, and this applies to man, life and the universe. The fact that they are not Azali means that they have been created by something other than them. This other factor is the Creator i.e. the Creator of man, life and the universe; and the existence of man, life and the universe proves the existence of the Creator. The Creator has either been created by something else, created by himself or is Azali, and cannot be anything other than these. The viewpoint that He is created by other than Him is invalid, because the Creator would then be limited, something, which has already been proven not to be the case. The viewpoint that He is a creator of Himself is also invalid because this indicates that the Creator was created by Himself and is also a Creator of Himself, an issue that is clearly nonsensical. Thus, the Creator must be Azali, i.e. has no beginning and no end. The Creator does not depend on anything else, while all things depend on Him. This is the indication or the meaning of the word Allah . In other words, what has been characterised with this characteristic of Azali is the Creator, who is Allah.

The comprehension of this existence occurs through the senses, because this is a tangible reality. However, the essence of the Azali, i.e. the essence of the entity known as Allah , cannot be sensed, because the mind is not able to comprehend it. However, it is untrue to say that this constitutes belief in an unknown, because Allah is not unknown. He is known through His attributes and characteristics. This is belief or Iman in what is known and not in something unknown. It is also untrue to say that the Azali is something that was conceived, because He clearly has no beginning and yet despite this the human mind cannot conceive the essence of the Azali but only His existence. It is untrue to say that man has been forced to believe in that which he cannot conceive. This is because what man has been obliged to believe in and accept is the comprehension of the existence of the Creator. This comprehensionhas been realised from the existence of all tangible things. So all that the mind is required to comprehend is the sensed reality.

Through use of the intellectual process, it is not required for the mind to strive to reach a result other than what the mind is capable of understanding. It is impossible to arrive at any other conclusion through the intellectual process. To arrive at any other conclusion would need some other process entirely. For example, a scientist may perform a rational experiment to split the atom, yet it is not required that through this process he gains belief in the existence of Allah . This requires something else. Therefore, it comes as no surprise to see the genius mentality that can undertake the most accurate experiments or calculations and achieve the best possible results, like the scientist of the atom, yet you will see such a mentality going to church to pray to an inanimate piece of wood and believing that Three is One and One is Three, and that the Messiah is the son of Allah . It is not strange to see this, because this mentality was not used to reach an understanding of the existence of Allah and of His attributes and characteristics. This mentality was used to split the atom and confined itself to conducting scientific experiments. Because of this mentality, it is not unusual to see a scientist who will carefully study the plants, see the precision and wisdom of creation and yet fail to arrive at the natural conclusion that Allah exists. Instead, he continues to be an atheist who denies the existence of Allah . Such behaviour is not unusual, because the rational process undertaken by the scientist when he studied the plants was for the purpose of producing and attaining information only. The correct conclusion from this process would be that the precision of creation cannot and does not happen by coincidence and
cannot happen except through the actions of a creator. This understanding needs another rational process that was not undertaken by the scientist and remained unused in the discussion concerning the existence of the Creator. Therefore, the failure of the scientist to attain belief in the existence of Allah from this scientific process was not strange. When the human mind is used to understand a legislative text, this rational process is not needed to conclude whether any solutions derived from the text is right or wrong. The only thing that is required of the mind is to understand the solutions to various problems and situations contained within the text, and not whether the solution is correct or incorrect. To conclude whether this solution is correct or incorrect needs another rational process in which the mind rather than the text itself will be used as an evidence for the solutions, regardless of whether the text is legislation from Allah or legislation from man. So when the mind discusses or studies an article of Western civic law it needs to reach an understanding of what this law is about and not whether it is right or wrong. To know whether the treatment is right or wrong needs another rational process in which the mind, rather than the text, is the evidence of the treatment; regardless of the fact that the text is legislation from Allah or from man. In that case the mind could be used as evidence for the meaning or understanding of the text and not the text. In discussing the meaning or understanding derived from the text, the text itself rather than the mind would be the evidence of the understanding.

The Role of the Mind is to understand the text only

This is the inevitable matter concerning the mind. Therefore, when the human brain is used in Islam to attain certain results, there must be a distinction in using it in the creed(aqeedah) to reach an understanding of belief (Iman) and in using it in the divine rules (Ahkam Sharee’ah- i.e. rules related to trade, marriage, contracts, ibadat...etc) to reach an understanding of the Shar’i texts. When the mind is used to assess the creed, then the result acquired from this process is used to conclude whether the resulting thought is right or wrong. This is because the mind is used to assess the validity or invalidity of this thought. When the mind is used to assess the divine rules, then what is required from the rational process is to know the thought or understanding generated from this study of the text i.e. what it is, and not whether the understanding generated from the text is right or wrong. All that is needed is to know the understanding or thought that has been derived from the text. Any evidences derived from this understanding come from the text and not from the human mind. Therefore, the role of the mind in understanding the divine texts is limited to the understanding and nothing more. The mind does not and cannot judge on whether the rules are right or wrong or correct or corrupt, because it is not the basis for deriving the rules. Rather the evidence of the rules comes from the divine texts and whatever these texts have indicated of other evidences. What is required from the texts is the understanding of what they contain and not whether it is right or wrong. Concerning the creed, the role of the human mind is to deduce whether the creed(aqeedah) is valid or invalid. This is the way the mind is used within Islam. It is used in the creeds as evidence for them and as an arbiter in determining whether they are right or wrong.

The human mind is used in the divine texts to understand the rules derived from them and nothing more. This is because the mind can be used for weighing up the creeds alongside the Qur'an and the Sunnah. When it comes to the divine rules, the human mind cannot be used as evidence, only the divine texts can be used as such i.e. the Qur'an and the Sunnah and whatever was derived from them such as Ijma'a us-Sahabah (consensus of the Companions) and Qiyas (analogy). Divine evidence on any thought concerning the creeds must be definite (Qati'i). This is different from the divine rules, where the evidence deduced may be speculative (Dhanni). This is because the thoughts of the creeds are the basis upon which Islam is established for the Muslim, and Islam is established upon them in life's affairs. Islam has therefore obliged that the thoughts adopted from the creed be taken decisively, and obliged that the proof or evidence of this creed be definite. The creed (‘Aqeedah) in Islam is the decisive belief that agrees with reality and with certainty; any belief that is not decisive cannot be considered to be from the Islamic creed (‘Aqeedah). Also the decisive belief that does not agree with reality is not considered as part of the Islamic ‘Aqeedah. In the thoughts adopted from the creed, there are two issues: firstly, conviction with certainty, and secondly the certain agreement of the thought with reality. Both matters must exist to ensure that the derived thought is from the Islamic ‘Aqeedah. With its explicit verses, the noble Qur'an came with the decisive command that the ‘Aqeedah should be adopted with certainty, and clearly prohibited that ‘Aqeedah should be taken from any speculative evidences. Allah says:

"Indeed, those who believe not in the Hereafter, name the angels with female names. But they have no knowledge thereof. They follow but a guess, and verily, guess is no substitute for the truth" [ An-Najm: 27-28].

Hence we established the creed(aqeedah) with certainty and as a result of it,we accept the various detailed rules(akham sharia) originating from this established belief.

Further Reading

How the Aqeeda is established