对一些人来说,伊斯兰教中理智的作用这一主题似乎颇为怪异。遗憾的是,人们对伊斯兰教缺乏了解,才会产生这样的理解。通过研究《古兰经》和先知穆罕默德ﷺ的生平可以清楚看到,启示非常强调这一主题。启示关注这一问题是很自然的,因为要确立某种特定的行为,就必须针对个人的思维方式加以引导。启示在处理这一关键问题时如此有效,以至于只用了一节经文,整个社会便戒除了饮酒。

To some, the subject of the role of intellect in Islam seems quite bizarre. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness about Islam yields such an understanding. Through researching the Qur‟an and the life of the Prophet (saw) it is apparent that much emphasis was placed on this subject by the revelation. It is natural for the revelation to address this subject because in order to formulate a specific behaviour, the individual‟s way of thinking must be addressed. When the revelation addressed this crucial issue it did so in such an effective manner that it took only one Ayah for the entire society to abstain from alcohol.

先知穆罕默德ﷺ不仅向人们阐明了关乎其行为的法律事务，还引导了他们的理智，并阐明了理智的局限。

Prophet Muhammad (saw) not only clarified matters of law to the people that dealt with their actions but also directed their intellect and clarified its limitation.

这一点从日食的故事中可以明显看出:日食发生在先知ﷺ的儿子易卜拉欣(愿真主喜悦他)去世的当天。当人们说太阳之所以食,是因为先知ﷺ的儿子去世了,先知ﷺ告诉他们,太阳和月亮是真主的迹象。它们不会因为某人的死亡或出生而发生日食或月食;因此,这两件事之间没有任何关联。

This is evident when the sun eclipsed during the time of the Prophet (saw) on the same day that his (saw) son Ibraheem (ra) died. When people suggested that the sun eclipsed because of the Prophet‟s (saw) son‟s death, he (saw) told them that the sun and the moon are signs from Allah (swt). They do not eclipse for someone‟s death or birth; therefore there is no relationship between the two events.

当先知(saw)纠正一群人的误解时，理性的引导方法和健全的推理原则便已发挥作用。当时他们说雨水是星辰的影响所致，先知告诉他们，星辰的主宰安拉(swt)才是使降雨发生的那一位。这只是众多涉及理性作用的例子中的两个。 Note: the "(saw)" and "(swt)" in the source are kept as written per the rule for honorifics; the Prophet's mention is followed by ﷺ per the rules: 当先知ﷺ纠正一群人的误解时，理性的引导方法和健全的推理原则便已发挥作用。当时他们说雨水是星辰的影响所致，先知ﷺ告诉他们，星辰的主宰安拉(swt)才是使降雨发生的那一位。这只是众多涉及理性作用的例子中的两个。

The method of directing the intellect and sound principles of reason were at work when the Prophet (saw) cleared the misunderstanding of a group of people when they said that rain occurs due to the influence of the star, telling them that the Lord of the star, Allah (swt), causes the rain to occur. These are just two of the many examples addressing the role of the intellect.

既然理解了伊斯兰教引导人们的理智，接下来出现的问题是：理智在伊斯兰教中究竟处于什么地位？

Having understood that Islam directed the people‟s intellect, the next question, which arises, is what exactly is the position of the intellect in Islam?

在伊斯兰教中，理智所扮演的角色非常重要。理智被用来理解和接受伊斯兰的信条（'Aqeedah），它是进入伊斯兰教唯一可接受的途径。伊斯兰要求人运用理智来信仰真主（SWT），并禁止在信条上盲目模仿（Taqleed）。

In Islam the role played by the intellect is a very significant one. The intellect is used to understand and accept the Islamic „Aqeedah (doctrine) and is the only acceptable method to enter Islam. Islam compels the use of the intellect to believe in Allah (swt) and forbids imitation (Taqleed) in „Aqeedah.

伊斯兰教提供了理性的证据，用以证明真主（SWT）的存在与独一性、穆罕默德ﷺ的先知身份，以及《古兰经》是真主的语言。因此，伊斯兰的根基建立在理智所获得的确信之上。借助这些可靠的证据，理智与心灵都得到满足，不再有盲目的信仰和迷信。

Islam provides rational evidences to prove the existence and the oneness of Allah (swt), the Prophethood of Muhammad (saw), and that the Qur‟an is the word of Allah (swt). Thus the foundation of Islam is built upon conviction through the intellect. Through this sound proof, the intellect and the heart are satisfied and devoid of any blind faith and superstitions.

由于《古兰经》的真实性和先知穆罕默德ﷺ的先知身份建立在理智之上,因此对天使、精灵等存在的信仰,以及对天堂和火狱的描述,都是建立在《古兰经》的真实性和穆罕默德ﷺ先知身份的基础之上的。

Since the authenticity of the Qur‟an and Prophethood of Prophet (saw) is built upon the intellect, the belief in beings such as the angels and Jinns, or descriptions of heaven and hell are based upon the authenticity of the Qur‟an and the Prophethood of Muhammad (saw).

一旦通过理性确立了伊斯兰的“阿拉伯语：阿格against”即“信条”（’Aqeedah），理性便随之承担另一种作用。它的作用仅在于理解问题与启示，并将启示应用于具体问题之上。理性以启示为来源，从中推导出关于任何事务的律例，无论是从小净（Wudhu，即乌都）到伊斯兰国的外交政策。

Once the „Aqeedah of Islam is arrived at intellectually, the intellect then plays a different role. It plays a role of only understanding the issue and the revelation and then applying the revelation to the issue. The intellect uses the revelation as a source to derive rulings on any issue, from Wudhu (ablution) to the foreign policy of the Islamic State.

重要的是要认识到，除非经文中提到了某条律例的理由，否则理性不能凭空为该律例臆造一个理由。为任何律例宣称一个理由，就意味着我们能够理解真主对该律例的意图，而这是不可能的。例如，我们不能运用理性去推断我们为何要做小净（Wudhu）。理性很可能会使人认为，小净是为了个人卫生。

It is important to realise that the intellect cannot be used to conjure up a reason for a ruling, unless the reason is mentioned in the text. Claiming a reason for any ruling implies that we can comprehend what Allah (swt) intended for that ruling, which is impossible. For example, we cannot use the intellect to infer a reason for why we perform Wudhu. The intellect would probably lead one to assume that it is for the sake of personal hygiene.

然而,如果无法获得水,我们则应当进行解除(Tayammum,即以尘土擦拭身体的一系列动作)。如果做瓦祖(Wudhu)的理由是为了洁净,那么当无法获得水时,真主(SWT)为何还要命令我们用尘土擦拭自己呢?

However, if water is not accessible then we are supposed to do Tayammum (a series of actions requiring one to wipe themselves with dust). If the reasoning behind Wudhu were cleanliness, then why would Allah (swt) order us to wipe ourselves with dust if water is inaccessible?

正确运用理智，可以从圣门弟子的行为中看出。在白德尔战役中，先知（saw）曾将军队安置在某个地点。哈巴卜·本·蒙齐尔（ra）向先知（saw）询问，他（saw）的决定是基于启示还是战术考虑。先知（saw）回答说，那是一项战术决定。于是哈巴卜·本·蒙齐尔说，那个地点选得不对。从这一事件中可以看出，圣门弟子能够分辨启示与理智之间的细微界限。他们从不用自己的思考去对启示作出判断。

The proper use of the intellect can be seen in the actions of the Sahabah (ra). During the battle of Badr the Prophet (saw) had stationed the army at a certain location. Habab bin al-Munthir (ra) inquired from the Prophet (saw) whether his (saw)‟s decision was based on the revelation or a tactical decision. The Prophet (saw) replied by saying that it was a tactical decision. Upon this Habab bin al-Munthir said that the location was a wrong one. From this incident we can see that the Sahabah (ra) recognised the fine line between the revelation and the intellect. They never used their thinking to pass judgments on the revelation.

在其他思想体系中，理智所承担的角色是它无法胜任的。在西方民主制度中，理智被赋予了组织人类生活的无限权力；然而，理智会受到偏见、差异、分歧、矛盾以及环境的影响。而在伊斯兰教中，理智并不用于立法，而是用于理解启示并将其付诸实践。

In other ideologies the intellect plays a role that it cannot fulfil. In Western democracies, intellect is given the unlimited role of organising man‟s life; however, it is subject to biases, disparity, differences, contradictions, and the influence of the environment. However, in Islam the intellect is not used to legislate, but to understand the revelation and to apply it.

关于理智，穆斯林需要像哈巴卜·本·蒙齐尔（愿真主喜悦他）那样，清楚地认识到启示与理性（ʿAql）之间的微妙界限。遗憾的是，一些穆斯林开始运用自己的理智，去为真主（SWT）所赐予我们的律例寻找理由，例如：拜功是良好的锻炼，斋戒有益于身体，等等。更有甚者，一些穆斯林开始偏好人定法，而不是宇宙的创造者真主（SWT）所颁布的律例。

With regard to the intellect, Muslims need to have the same awareness of the fine line between revelation and „Aql that Habab bin al-Mundthir (ra) had. Unfortunately, Muslims have begun to exercise their intellect to pass on the rulings given to us by Allah (swt), e.g. Salah is good exercise, fasting is good for the body, etc. Furthermore, in some cases Muslims have started to prefer the ruling of man-made laws to those of the Creator of the Universe, Allah (swt).