Al-Daleel

Humanism is an intellectual school that emerged in the West alongside the Western Renaissance, emphasizing the centrality of humans rather than God and prioritizing their worldly happiness over salvation in the hereafter. It relies on human empirical reason rather than divine revelation. Creed (ʿAqīdah) is defined as a definitive mental conviction established as truthful through evidence. The doctrinal framework (al-nasq al-ʿaqadī) refers to the intellectual system derived from a demonstrative methodology—a deductive reasoning process grounded in foundationalist theory. In this article, we address the dialectical tension between the humanist worldview and the creed-based worldview, highlighting the theoretical and practical shortcomings of humanism due to its flawed conception of humanity. This flawed view leads to an identity crisis and extremes in human engagement—oscillating between excess and neglect-under a purely rational framework. In contrast, we elucidate the image of humanity within a sound doctrinal framework, one anchored in foundationalism and evidence, demonstrating its validity and alignment with reality and innate human nature (fiṭrah).

Human beings have been exclusively endued with the blessing of intellect through which they can take hold of the true knowledges on whose light they can develop and attain self-perfections. However, these knowledges differ in the levels of endorsing, since some kinds of knowledge are advocated through preponderating the preferred side to the less preferred, while other kinds are advocated through the absence of any probability of the otherwise. Of this kind of advocation is termed as decisiveness on its basis all the epistemological principles are presented as the cornerstone of the other creeds and beliefs.
The faiths that create themselves in the human self are the products of introductions that differ from one person to another according to one’s cultural backgrounds and the devices used in the issue. Through these devices, man can get a universal vision suitable to the power of these introductions, the scope of its control over one’s self and the result expected therefrom. In this way, they serve as a basis on which one depends in one’s practical behavior.
Creed generally and the creed of monotheism particularly are the most important issues that played the most vital role in the building of the epistemological system of human lives. This creed is responsible for sketching the map of man’s progress and behavior; and on the light of it, man’s view of the world is decided. Because of the great significance of creed, it is inevitable to seek it in such a way that assures decisiveness and certainty in their terminological concepts.
The writer of the essay attempts to make references to this issue through showing the definition and the different kinds of evidence in order to prove which of these kinds of evidence can lead to decisiveness and certainty in their particular senses. He also gives an adequate answer to the following critical questions: Why is it necessary to recognize the creed through certainty in its particular sense only rather than other ranks? What is the way that takes to certainty? What are the types of it? Having answered these questions, the writer focuses only on the types that are useful for proving the obligatory on the light of which the significance of evidence of inherence in argumentation, the method it helps us prove a creed and the fundaments that help us verify that creed. All these points are proven through the employment of the demonstrative and logical style, plus quoting some words of famous wise people and logicians when necessary.
The writer finally concludes that the evidence of inherence plays the most vital role in proving the creeds and even stands for the one and only evidence through which certainty in its particular sense is attained to prove the existence of the Necessary Existent God and some of His Majestic Attributes.

Everyone must someday have had to make a decision; so, he started thinking about that decision, thus putting before his eyes all the probabilities that may affect the decision. As a result of thinking, the final decision would be based on these accumulative probabilities. The totality of this process of thinking, which begins with amassing the parts and ends with making a final decision, is in mathematics termed as the probability calculation. Before being one of the significant, precise and reason-based mathematical theories that has its own theorists, advocates and laws, the probability calculation theory is initially a traditional and rational theory that people usually use in their ordinary and daily activities, although they, of course, fail to pay attention to its mathematical applications.
The current essay is an attempt to make mathematics, represented by this important theory, exceed its ordinary engagement in man’s life affairs and move to the aspect of creed in order to investigate and explore any possibility of employing the probability calculation theory for proving the existence and the unity of the Creator of the universe.

In its capacity as the basis on which the entirety of man’s knowledge and actions are founded and as the means that defines man’s progress in this worldly life and destiny in the Other World, creed plays the most vital role in man’s life. In view of this fact, the investigations made for seeking the best ways that take to getting the creeds in their most accurate form have been characterized by utmost importance and sensitivity in the lives of human beings throughout their existence on this globe. Historically, some people sought to restrict these ways to the intellect, while others added the narrative heritage thereto. As for intuitive knowledge, it has not been given much interest by theologians; and the reason might be traced back to a set of factors, like the ambiguity that usually covers up this kind of knowledge, the mixture between this kind of knowledge and illusions, which has been the reason for eliminating it from the circle of creeds that require very much clarity and certainty. Consequently, as the writer of this essay deems, it has been necessary to probe the reality of intuitiveness and its relationship with the creedal issues; and to prove through perusal whether intuitiveness can or cannot serve as valid argument and then to prove scope of its serving as valid argument.
In order to unmask the truth about this issue, the writer has adopted the descriptive-analytic approach, through which he concluded the following point: The Gnostic, intuitive knowledge essentially does not differ from the other kinds of knowledge that man can get through other ways, except in rank and means. This kind of knowledge being a valid argument is spontaneous, in the sense that it does not need other matters than itself. Also, it is not a special kind of knowledge, which entails that all people can get it and it can be easily transformed to the others, especially when it is subjected to a certain set of criteria. As a final point, the writer proves manifestly that the intuitive knowledge’s acting as valid argument in creedal issues are the twin of the rational and narrative knowledges, since there is not any sort of contradiction between the two.

Almighty Allah has made in man’s nature many cognitive powers that help the self to recognize various subjects. One of these powers is the power of illusion, which helps man to recognize the partial meanings related to material things, and helps him in the judgment on them, and that judgment shall be right. However, the self would go beyond that to judge on abstract subjects, and its judgment here would be wrong, because it judges on abstract subjects according to what has been proved for material objects. In this study, we want to show the negative impact of this power on a doctrinal study; because the axis of such study is the unseen and pure world, which is theology, and how it can lead a researcher to make mistakes by attributing to Almighty Allah what is not appropriate to His majesty and sanctity.

This article seeks to clarify the true role played by rational primaries (al-awwaliyyāt al-ʿaqliyya) in constructing creedal doctrine (al-ʿaqīda). It does so by examining how these primaries enter and exert their governing authority within intellectual practice—beginning with the acknowledgment of ignorance, doubt, and questioning; proceeding through the pursuit of knowledge and the development of demonstrative reasoning (al-ʿaql al-burhānī); and culminating in the process of drawing conclusions across various domains and contents of knowledge. The article ultimately concludes that a creed cannot truly be a creed unless it aligns with rational primaries-both in general and specific terms-and emerges from a theoretical framework (al-bināʾ al-naẓarī) shaped by adherence to these foundational principles.

The essay touches on an elementary and serious issue that has its great impact on every man’s view of the creed. This issue namely is the determination whether human knowledge is absolute or relative. In other words, it discusses the question whether we, human beings, are able to find out things as they actually are in reality or we cannot realize the total features of a thing; rather, we are only able to realize the apparent features the we can see but not as they really are. In investigating the issues related to this thesis, the writer employs the demonstrative intellect approach; he thus first establishes the substantial principles on which he would rest in the judgment between the two opposite trends and then starts with exhibiting the various divisions of human knowledge in terms of their epistemological tools and their innately natural features in order, in a coming stage, to prove the various epistemological tools as serving as valid arguments and to point to the frame within which these tools act as valid arguments in the issue of revealing the reality of things.
The writer then classifies the relative knowledge into two classes; the first of which is about the unconditional relativity of the epistemological tools, which is the same widely known epistemological relativity, while the second class is about the most accurate way of understanding the texts, which is the same semantic relativity. After that, the writer mentions the incentives that led the relativists to choose either the epistemological or the semantic relativities. On top of these incentive is ignorance or negligence of the absolute, primary rational principles.
The writer then moves to presenting the principles of the absolute knowledge and displaying its theme and reality in itself, proving that this absolute knowledge rests on the same intuitive and self-evident rational principles.
He then criticizes the principles of relative knowledge according to the logical and epistemological rules that have already been decided, thus proving that the relative knowledge, in addition to its being self-destructive, leads to nothing but skepticism and sophistication. In details, the writer sheds light on the positive creedal outcomes of the absolute knowledge and the negative consequences of the relative knowledge. At the end, the writer sums up the universal results concluded from the research, including establishing principles for the logical and epistemological rules, explaining the motives and attitudes of the advocates of both the absolute and the relative knowledge, the criticisms raised about the approach of the relativity of knowledge, warning against their negative effects on the creedal view, such as elimination of the creed, divergence of The writer also gives some scientific and cultural advices and recommendations that are helpful to protect against and treat the problems originated by the relative knowledge, especially in academic centers. Such recommendations include necessary refreshing of the rational sciences, taking much more interest in teaching these sciences and graduating proficient and specialized scientific cadres and other cadres fully trained on the genuine rational culture by means of reforming the educational and cultural systems in the various religious and academic educational centers in order to develop the human societies.

This article deals with the phenomenon of doctrinal aberration and shows the most important cognitive, psychological, or social reasons and justifications that are required and needed for its rise and spread. The purpose of all that is to get to know a methodological treatment appropriate for those reasons and justifications, by trying to get to proved criteria and foundations of the true doctrine on the one hand, and by working to find theoretical and applicable ways and methods able to do away with the phenomenon of doctrinal deviation or limit its harms and bad consequences in our present-day life, on the other. This is the right beginning to diagnose and treat the problem of beliefs deviation.
It has been clear that doctrinal deviations have negative and dangerous consequences and effects appearing in different manifestations and forms whether in individuals or community; to be as symptoms and effects showing that those deviations have actually taken place. It is important, before all, to diagnose the nature of doctrinal deviation, and show that it is, in fact, two things that must be treated: one is the problem if the doctrinal emptiness, and the other is the problem of the ways to corruption. It has become clear too that there are three basic ways for how to face and fight these two problems. These three ways are: foundational development ways, Preventive protective ways, and treatment ways.
The same treatment ways have been classified in the treatment of doctrinal deviations into two basic methods, the first of which is the theoretical treatment; It is done by treating the causes that have led the corruption of beliefs to be so widespread intellectually and theoretically. The second is the practical treatment; It is done by treating the causes that have led the corruption of beliefs to be so widespread through practical steps and mechanisms to protect the true doctrine, and treat what has been corrupted and aberrated.

The essay gives answers to such questions as: Do we still need for creed in this age-the age of modern technology and mind-boggling development of human sciences? Can technology and modern developments be sufficient for man to create happiness and rest for himself; and thus, put aside such things like creed, religion, and religious sect? Is it principally possible to reduce creed to nothing in life? The writer of the essay thus uses the descriptive-analytical approach while answering these questions and their likes. Hence, he proves that creed is seen to play a pivotal, vital, and basic role in recognizing man’s true identity and life. Moreover, man’s need for creed increases with the increase of his keeping up with the scientific development; and this matter includes all individuals of the human race without any exception. It is thus never inaccurate to say that the attainment of true and eternal felicity is possible only through nourishing oneself with sound creed and working according to it. Furthermore, life in the technological age and benefitting for technology cannot be imagined without practical commitment to life’s intellectual and creedal backgrounds. In view of these facts, the idea of the pivotality and significance of creed is formed for the purpose of getting reasonable and meticulous benefit from the products of human sciences. It goes without saying that man is always in search for the truth and is naively running behind happiness; so, the present age of technology, along with all its useful features and qualities and apart from deciding whether or not it succeeded to solve all life problems, cannot alone take man to eternal happiness. In accordance with the primary rule of preferring the mental interests over the transitory material ones and the other primary rule that entails that to win the true and eternal happiness is conditional upon adopting a true creed and acting upon it, the significance, necessity, and centrality of creed in all ages are manifestly proven, especially in the current age of technology. On account of the damages occasionally arising from modern technology when used in the wrong way or for wrong purposes or based on corrupt philosophical grounds, and the necessity of giving adequate answers to people’s structural questions, there is no doubt that creed plays a pivotal role in the lives of modern humans.