On the other hand, representatives of science have often made an
attempt to arrive at fundamental judgments with respect to values and
ends on the basis of^ the scientific method, and in this way have set
themselves in opposition to religion. These conflicts have all sprung
from fatal errors .... Science, however, cannot create ends and, even,
less, install them in human beings; science can at the most supply the
means by which to attain certain ends. But the ends themselves are
conceived by personalities with lofty ethical ideals.(11)
The same view has been expressed by Joad, who, however,
prefers the term "Intuition" to "Revelation". Intuition may be
subsumed under Wahi, if we bear in mind the wide sense in which it
is employed in the Qur'an. But intuition, it should be noted, is not
synonymous with the Wahi imparted to Anbiya; the difference
between the two is not quantitative, but qualitative. Says Joad:
(Intuition) is its own authority and carries with it the guarantee of its
own authenticity. For those truths which we know intuitively no
reasons can be adduced, simply because they are not reached by a
process of reasoning. Reason no doubt may be enlisted later to
produce arguments in their favour.(12)
As the following passage shows, Prof. Cassirer too does not
credit reason with the power of apprehending the highest values:
(In Greek philosophy) the power of reason was extolled as the highest
power of man. But what man could never know, until he was
enlightened with a special Divine revelation, is that reason itself is one
of the most questionable and ambiguous things in the world.(13)
In short, while the authority of reason cannot be questioned in
the world of fact, the realm of ends is definitely outside its
jurisdiction. Revelation is the only source of our knowledge of the
highest values.
Armed with adequate knowledge of values, we can, if we want,
live and act in full accord with the immutable moral order of the
universe. The knowledge does not consist in merely the recognition
of a value as a value but involves a just estimate of the degree of
worth possessed by it, so that it can be compared with other values.
Confronted with a situation where we are called upon to choose
between two values, we can then promptly choose the higher and
sacrifice the lower value for the sake of the higher. Character is
strengthened by our voluntary sacrifice of a lower value to secure a
higher one. When a man has to choose between life and money, he
The Role of Reason in Deen 133