1. Is Islam a Rational Religion?
Effective Islamic English
Cross – Cultural
Communication Skills EIECC
Is Islam a Rational Religion?
Prepared by:
Mohamed O. Albesheer
28/8/1437-3/6/2016
Riyadh
Importance of the topic?

2. Why this Topic? To clear 2 misconceptions
Misconception 1: raised by religious community:
: “if you believe you need not to look for any intellectual convection in your believe”.
There is a difference between religion and science… religion and reason
Believe without making sense to it…

3. Why this Topic? Misconception 2: Raised by nonbelievers:
all religions are irrational, based on legends.
Just soft headed people who will accept religion.

4. Why true Religion must be Rational?
Allah endowed us with reason, He SWT knows how we behave rationally,
so it is irrelevant that he would say something that is incompatible with the reason which he endowed us

5. Why true Religion must be Rational?
God created the empirical world , so He would not create the world in one way, then tell it us in another way. He would not contradict himself.

6. Why true Religion must be Rational?
If you are a wise person you don’t just accept the claim of someone who tells you something blindly … should ask for evidence…
all prophets their peoples asked them : what the evidence that you are sent from God?

7. How to Know that any religion is Rational or not?
Religion or any scientific theory to be rational must fulfill 4 conditions:

8. How to Know that any religion is Rational or not?
1. It must not tell us something contradictory
Should not make a statement and then contradict that statement …….

9. How to Know that any religion is Rational or not?
The Quran made this criterion for deciding whether a book is from God or not , if there are contradictory statement in a book, then we say that it can’t be from God…
  Then do they not reflect upon the Qur'an? If it had been from [any] other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction. (4:82)

10. How to Know that any religion is Rational or not?
2: Should not make factual mistakes…
Religion must not made statement has been Scientifically proofed it is false……

11. How to Know that any religion is Rational or not?
3: It Should not condone or invite people to immoral acts……
And number 4:

12. How to Know that any religion is Rational or not?
4: Religion must support its basic claims
(you don’t need a direct evidence for every detail)

13. Islam is rational Religion….
The first verse in Quran: (Recite in the name of your Lord)(96:1)….(اقرأ باسم ربك
Now: Why should I read in his name?
. Because He created (الذي خلق)
This is a moral act. ……
Rationality

14. Islam is rational Religion….
(…. Indeed in that are signs for people who use reason) (12:4)
يعقلون – يتفكرون – يتدبرون
Those who understand
…..who reflect
…..Look for the truth

15. Islam is rational Religion….
Why Quran use commercial language…?
Commerce…Profit…Wage….Loss…
People are mostly rational when they come to business … Quran is saying: be rational when it comes to religion like you are when it comes to business…!

16. Finally….
There is no dichotomy between spiritual, looking for tranquility, emotional and to be rational… all of this goes together.

17. The Quran equates the two in verse i. e
The Quran equates the two in verse i.e.: be rational with having faith.
An irrational person cannot have faith and truly faithful person must be rational
“ اولئك الذين هداهم الله واولئك هم أولو الألباب”
(Those are ones Allah has guided, and those are people of understanding)(39:18)

18. Sources:
(Rational)- Huda TV program, guest: Dr. Jaffar Shakh Idriss, host: Sahakh Yassir Fazzaga
Photoes collected Through google image search engine.
Thanks to great DEEDAT group members, specially : The Facilitator: Mr. Monazil , And Mr. Nawaf.

19. Thank you