The Problematic Engagement with Reprehensible Philosophy
A general problem that should also be mentioned here is that many English-speaking preachers themselves come from the field of philosophy, which was sharply condemned and strictly rejected by the early scholars of the first centuries. The reprehensible philosophy in question is not about trivial logical relationships, such as that one and one makes two, or that an effect follows its cause in time. Rather, it concerned the fact that people in the Islamic world began to learn the rules of philosophy and thereby to investigate the nature and essence of the Creator.
These rules were, moreover, established by non-Muslims, such as the Greek philosophers, who were far removed from a sound understanding of monotheism. Apart from this, the intellect differs among people, and consequently so do the conclusions they draw. If the Islamic creedal foundations were subjected to human reason, an unclear and contradictory doctrine would be the inevitable consequence.
The creedal foundations must, in contrast to the digressions of the Mutakallimin, be clearly explained through the Islamic source texts. And it was precisely this that prompted the early scholars over the course of centuries to unanimously reject the reprehensible philosophy. An example is this statement by ash-Shafi'i, which was narrated by Abu Nu'aim al-Asbahani in Hilyatu l-Awliya' wa Tabaqatu l-Asfiya':
… ثَنَا أَبُو مُحَمَّدِ بْنُ أَبِي حَاتِمٍ، ثَنَا يُونُسُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْأَعْلَى، سَمِعْتُ الشَّافِعِيَّ، يَقُولُ: «لأَنْ يُبْتَلَى الْمَرْءُ بِكُلِّ مَا نَهَى اللهُ عَنْهُ مَا عَدَا الشِّرْكَ بِهِ خَيْرٌ مِنَ النَّظَرِ فِي الْكَلَامِ، فَإِنِّي وَاللهِ اطَّلَعْتُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكَلَامِ عَلَى شَيْءٍ مَا ظَنَنْتُهُ قَطُّ»
… it was reported to us by Yunus ibnu 'Abdil-A'la: I heard ash-Shafi'i say: “That a person be tried with everything that Allah has forbidden, apart from shirk, is better for him than looking into philosophy. I have – by Allah – seen things from the people of philosophy that I could never have imagined.”
Muslims in the English-speaking world will ultimately have to question their own intellectual origins. Whoever has learned philosophy according to Western models from the outset and has, moreover, applied it to Islamic theological questions for many years, will inevitably be unable to follow the methodology of the early Muslims fully and entirely. It is clear that this first requires a longer process in which people must acquire a well-founded knowledge of the books of the early Muslims.
It is not sufficient in this regard to resort to the argument, in support of one’s own approach, that a knowledgeable person from later centuries also employed philosophy in order to refute the false views of certain sects. Whoever reads the books of the early Muslims sees in their statements that they explicitly rejected this approach, being closer to the source of Islam and possessing a better understanding than later scholars.
Thus, Abu Nu'aim likewise transmits the following from 'Abdurrahman ibnu Mahdiy in Hilyatu l-Awliya':
قِيلَ لِعَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ مَهْدِيٍّ: إِنَّ فُلَانًا قَدْ صَنَّفَ كِتَابًا فِي السُّنَّةِ رَدًّا عَلَى فُلَانٍ. فَقَالَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ: رَدًّا بِكِتَابِ اللَّهِ وَسُنَّةِ نَبِيِّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ؟ قِيلَ: بِكَلَامٍ. قَالَ: رَدَّ بَاطِلًا بِبَاطِلٍ.
It was said to 'Abdurrahman ibnu Mahdiy: “Someone has written a book about the Sunnah as a refutation against that (man).” 'Abdurrahman then said: “A refutation based on the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet – may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him?”
It was said: “(No, a refutation) by means of philosophy.” He said: “(That is) a refutation of falsehood through falsehood.”
This statement is but one example of the repeatedly narrated position of the early scholars regarding this matter. Instead, the Salaf used to explain the truth through the Islamic source texts and likewise refute falsehood through the texts.
In as-Sunnah, al-Khallal cites the following statement by Imam Ahmad:
وَلَوْ تَدَبَّرَ إِنْسَانٌ الْقُرْآنَ كَانَ فِيهِ مَا يَرُدُّ عَلَى كُلِّ مُبْتَدِعٍ بِدْعَتَهُ
“If a person reflects upon the Qur'an, he will find in it that which refutes the bid'ah (innovation) of every innovator.”
Al-Khallal further cites in as-Sunnah the following apt statement by ash-Sha'bi:
مَا ابْتُدِعَ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ بِدْعَةٌ إِلَّا وَفِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مَا يُكَذِّبُهَا
“For every bid'ah that has been devised regarding Islam, there exists in the Book of Allah – mighty and exalted is He – that which exposes it as a lie.”
The vehement rejection of philosophy was, in turn, practised by the early Muslims in general, by well-known figures such as Malik and ash-Shafi'i, and thus not merely by Hanbalites who only appeared after Ahmad.