i dont think the premise is that the intelligent should rule the strong-i think the gist of the philosophy is that each person is obligated to develop and use his intellect. islam advises us to ponder and study the scriptures as well as nature as best we can with our faculties, and i take that to mean we may use whatever scientific developments become known to us as well. i believe it implies, or perhaps it stresses that we are not meant to simply read without understanding, nor to believe blindly or act without conscious choice.

of course, ahmed please be welcome to correct me if i am wrong, i have not studied nearly as much as i can see you have!

I have a quick question. I understand from what you're saying that the Quran encourages the use of the intellect, and says that action without thought is unworthy, even if the action appears to be virtuous. Perhaps it's not really virtue if no thought went into it? No doubt one of the functions of the intellect is to protect one. Some Christians would say, God gave you a brain to think with and asks only one thing in return: that you use it. In the background of this statement is the on going plague of false "holymen" that Christians have had to put up with.

My question though is this: some would say that a test of whether the intellect is really operating is whether it's free. In other words, if I'm not free to come to whatever conclusion my intellect takes me to... if I can use my intellect only if I arrive at a certain conclusion, then it would appear I'm using my intellect only in its capacity to connect the dots... not to really think for myself. Is that issue addressed?

If you mean free will, then yes, Islam states that your decisions are freely made by you, and the consequences, the good and the bad are therefore your own responsiblity.

Ahmed JBH, I feel that your opening post encourages the issue that Josh 0335 has raised. It seems relevant to include that Islam is a young religion and has accepted, a great many understandings that are both pure and true, such as lessons from ancient Greece. Did Islam hold that the Earth was flat, I think not as it embodied the learnings and truths that were bestowed upon it from history. I feel you are obliged to accept or question, that Islam is more than the Qu' ran, it is its people and their histories.

Ahmed JBH, I feel that your opening post encourages the issue that Josh 0335 has raised. It seems relevant to include that Islam is a young religion and has accepted, a great many understandings that are both pure and true, such as lessons from ancient Greece. Did Islam hold that the Earth was flat, I think not as it embodied the learnings and truths that were bestowed upon it from history. I feel you are obliged to accept or question, that Islam is more than the Qu' ran, it is its people and their histories.

This is a good outlook, but I also don't believe in free will. There are a finite choices for every decision and some you have absolutely no choice. I think it is a trick to mislead people with however; I agree with your decisions are freely made by you and you also experience the consequences of those decisions weather they turn out good or bad.

This is why I think it is unfair to first place expectations onto a being to act or behave in a certain way. Then secondly punish said being for making the choice which is contrary to those expectations. Sending a being to suffer torment for making the "wrong" decisions is cold hearted.