CEVAP:

The philosophy of Ibn Rushd (or Averroës, as he was known in Latin) could be argued to share with Al-Fârâbî’s motivations in some respects: attaining happiness and human perfection while safeguarding the continuity of the transmission of philosophy. Averroës had begun with the contention that the study of philosophy was commanded by shari‘ah. Many Quranic verses, such as “Reflect, you have a vision” (59: 2) and “they give thought to the creation of heaven and earth” (3: 191), command human intellectual reflection upon God and his creation. This is best done by demonstration, drawing inferences from accepted premises, as performed by both lawyers and philosophers. Since such obligation is a part of the religion, then a person who has the capacity of “natural intelligence” and “religious integrity” must begin to study philosophy (Hillier, n.d.). The fundamental assumption of Averroës on the relation between philosophy and religion is expressed in Fasl al-Maqâl as follows: “…Since this Law (shari‘ah) is true and calls to the reflection leading to cognition of the truth, we, the Muslim community, know firmly that demonstrative reflection cannot lead to something differing with what is set down in the Law. For the truth does not contradict the truth [al-khaqq lâ yuddâd al-khaqq]; rather, it agrees with and bears witness to it”.