Since the destruction of the Khilafah and the decline of the Muslims the Ummah has been subjected to host of alien thoughts that have been implanted in the Muslims under the guise Islam. Of the most dangerous of these concepts is the idea that mans intellect is a source of legislation either explicitly or implicitly through concepts such as benefit as a criteria to judge the Hukm (rule) of Allah.

This has become propagated to the Muslim Ummah and has been adopted by some within her. We should know that the Hukm Shari is defined as the Address (Khitaab) of the Legislator concerning actions of the servant. In other words for every Islamic rule we require an address (Khitaab) from Allah and this would be demonstrated from the revelation and the mind of man is not a receiver of revelation. Hence we need to go to what has been confirmed as revelation i.e. the Kitab of Allah, the Sunnah of his Messenger (saw) and those things which indicate revelation i.e. Ijma’a as Sahabah (ra) or through Qiyas with an Illah (divine reason) in the text.

It should be made clear that the Hukm of Allah can not be determined or judged through the limited mind of man. Indeed the role of the Shari’ah is to remove man from his own bias and whims to the justice and mercy of Allah. It would not be allowed to use the mind to derive a rule as the intellect is not a source of revelation and therefore it is not a source of divine rules. The Prophet (saw) was reported in a Hadith narrated by Imam Tirmidhi as saying, “Whosoever interprets the Qur’an according to his opinion, let him seek his abode in the fire”, and in another narration, “Whosoever interprets the Qur’an without knowledge, let him seek his abode in the fire”. Furthermore, it is narrated by Abu Dawud and by Tirmidhi that the Prophet (saw) has said, “Whosoever interprets the Qur’an according to his opinion, even if he get’s it right, he has indeed committed a sin”.