بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ○
Translation: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
In the Holy Quran, we read:
«فَبَشِّرْ عِبَادِ○ الَّذِينَ یَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقَوْلَ فَیَتَّبِعُونَ أَحْسَنَهُ أُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ هَدَاهُمُ اللَّهُ وَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ أُوْلُوا الْأَلْبَابِ○» (سورہ زمر، آیت ۱۸۔)
Translation: So give good tidings to My servants, those who listen to speech and follow the best of it. Those are the ones Allah has guided, and those are people of reason. (39:18)
Commentary
These two verses, which have appeared in the form of an Islamic motto, clearly highlight the concept of freedom of thought in Islam and define intellect as the ability to critically analyse and objectively choose the best view in different matters.
First it is said, “give good tidings to My servants,” and then these special servants are introduced as those who listen carefully to every statement, without considering who the speaker is or what ideology he holds, and who, using reason and intellect, choose the best among them. They show no kind of prejudice or stubbornness, and no narrow-mindedness is found in their thinking or outlook. They are seekers of truth and thirsty for reality; wherever they find it, they rush toward it, welcome it eagerly, and drink freely from its clear spring until they are satisfied. They are not only seekers of truth and thirsty for good discourse; rather, between “good” and “better,” and between “virtuous” and “more virtuous,” they choose the latter. In short, they desire what is best and most excellent.
Yes! This is the sign of a true Muslim and a truth-seeking believer.
Regarding the phrase “they listen to the speech” (يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقَوْلَ), commentators have given various interpretations of what is meant by “the speech” (قول)
Some have taken it to mean the Qur’an, and what it contains regarding commands and permissions, considering the following of its commands as following what is best.
Others have interpreted it as referring generally to divine commands, whether they are found in the Qur’an or outside it.
However, there is no evidence for limiting the meaning in this way. Rather, the apparent meaning of the verse encompasses every kind of statement and every kind of speech. God’s faithful servants select the best from among all words, follow it, and commit themselves to it in practice.
It is noteworthy that in the above verse the Qur’an restricts those who possess divine guidance to this very group, just as it restricts the people of reason to them as well. This indicates that this group possesses both outward and inward guidance: outward guidance through reason and intellect, and inward guidance through divine light and unseen assistance. Both of these distinctions belong to truth-seeking people endowed with freedom of thought (critical thinking).
Islam and Freedom of Thought
Many religions forbid their followers from studying or investigating the views of others, because due to the weakness of their logic they fear that readers may accept others’ arguments and thus leave their ranks.
But as stated in the verses under discussion, Islam has adopted an open-door policy in this regard and regards as God’s true servants those who are people of research—those who neither shy away from listening to others, nor submit unconditionally, nor accept every doubt and suspicion.
Islam gives glad tidings to such people: those who listen carefully to words and select from them what is best. They do not merely prefer good words over bad ones; rather, even among flowers, they choose the finest flower.
The Qur’an strongly condemns those ignorant and heedless people who, upon hearing the message of truth, stuff their fingers into their ears and cover their minds. As reported in the words of Prophet Noah (peace be upon him), he complained to God about such people, saying:
وَ إِنِّي كُلَّما دَعَوْتُهُمْ لِتَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ جَعَلُوا أَصابِعَهُمْ فِي آذانِهِمْ وَ اسْتَغْشَوْا ثِيابَهُمْ وَ أَصَرُّوا وَ اسْتَكْبَرُوا اسْتِكْباراً○ (سورہ نوح، آیت ۷.)
Translation: “And indeed, every time I invited them that You may forgive them, they put their fingers in their ears, covered themselves with their garments, persisted, and were arrogant with [great] arrogance.”
(71: 7)
In principle, a school of thought that possesses strong logic has no reason to fear the words of others, nor to be afraid when issues are raised against it. Fear is fitting only for those who are weak and illogical.
This verse does not count among the people of intellect or the guided those who accept every statement unconditionally. Their example is like sheep that graze in a meadow without any investigation. The verse assigns these two qualities only to those who are neither trapped in excessive, unconditional submission nor in the opposite extreme of rigid and ignorant prejudice.
Answers to a Few Questions
It may be asked here: Why does Islam forbid the buying and selling of misleading books (like books of Sufis)? Why is it considered unlawful to give the Qur’an into the hands of disbelievers? How can someone who does not even know a matter choose from it or distinguish good from bad? Does this not lead to a contradiction?
The answer to the first question is clear: the verses under discussion speak about matters in which there is hope of guidance. When, after reflection and investigation, it is established that a certain book is misleading, it no longer falls under the subject of this ruling. Islam never permits people to tread a path whose incorrectness and falsity have already been proven.
However, as long as this has not been established for someone, and he is researching different schools of thought in order to accept the true faith, he may study and examine all such books. But once the matter has been settled, such books should be kept out of everyone’s reach, like a poisonous substance.
As for the second question, giving the Qur’an to a non-Muslim is impermissible only when it leads to disrespect or desecration. Otherwise, if it is known that a non-Muslim is genuinely seeking to research Islam and wishes to study the Qur’an for this purpose, not only is there no objection to giving it to him, but it may even be obligatory. Those who have declared it unlawful intend a case other than this one.
For this reason, great Islamic societies insist that the Qur’an should be translated into the living languages of the world and conveyed to truth-seekers and those thirsty for reality for the spread of the Islamic message.
Regarding the third question, one should note that often a person may not personally be capable of performing a task, but when someone else performs it, he can still distinguish between good and bad and, using reason, intellect, and intuition, choose the best among them.
For example, some people may not know the art of architecture or construction and may not even be able to place bricks correctly, yet they can still distinguish a well-designed building from an ugly, awkward, and unsuitable one.
We know many individuals who are not poets themselves, yet can judge the merits of poetry. Some people do not wrestle themselves, yet they can judge between wrestlers and decide who is the better one.
Freedom of Thought and Islamic Traditions
In Islamic traditions—whether those narrated in the interpretation of the verses under discussion or reported independently—great emphasis has been placed on this principle.
One such tradition is narrated from Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far (peace be upon them both), who said to his learned companion Hisham ibn Hakam:
يا هشام ان اللَّه تبارك و تعالى بشر اهل العقل و الفهم فى كتابه، فقال فَبَشِّرْ عِبادِ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقَوْلَ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ أَحْسَنَهُ. (اصول کافی، جلد ۱، کتاب العقل، حدیث ۱۲.)
Translation: “O Hisham! God, Blessed and Exalted, has given glad tidings to the people of reason and understanding in His Book, saying: ‘So give glad tidings to My servants who listen to the word and follow the best of it.’ These are the ones whom God has guided, and they are the people of intellect.”
(Usul al-Kafi, vol. 1, Book of Intellect, hadith 12)
In another narration, Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (peace be upon him), in explaining the verse, said:
هو الرجل يسمع الحديث فيحدث به كما سمعه، لا يزيد فيه و لا ينقص. (نور الثقلین، جلد ۴، صفحہ ۴۸۲، حدیث ۲۴.)
Translation: “It refers to a person who hears a hadith and transmits it exactly as he heard it, without adding to it or subtracting from it.”
(Nur al-Thaqalayn, vol. 4, p. 482, hadith 24)
What is meant here is an interpretation of “and they follow the best of it,” (فَيَتَّبِعُونَ أَحْسَنَهُ) for one sign of following the best words is that a person does not add anything from himself and conveys them exactly to others.
In Nahjulbalagha, Imam Ali (peace be upon him) says:
الحكمة ضالة المؤمن، فخذ الحكمة و لو من اهل النفاق! (نهج البلاغه، کلمات قصار، کلمہ ۸۰.)
Translation: “Wisdom is the believer’s pursuit; therefore, attain wisdom even if it may be from the people of hypocrisy.”
(Nahjulbalagha, saying 80.)
Source: Tafsir Nemooneh, volume 19, pages 412 to 419.
