Rationalism and Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم

Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم throughout his life was very rational. He used rationality while conveying the message, while answering questions, while resolving disputes, etc. All wise and reasonable people at that time testified to the eligibility of the message the Blessed Prophet propagated. We can come across various incidents from the life of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم where he had adopted a rational approach. They are as follows:
Once the Prophet asked Muadh ibn Jabal, whom he had named a judge in the new environment of Yemen, “Through what will you judge?” Muadh replied, “Through the Book of Allah.” The Prophet then asked, “And if you find nothing in the Book of Allah?” Muadh went on to say, “I shall judge according to the tradition of Allah’s Messenger.” The Prophet further asked, “And if you find nothing in the Messenger’s tradition?” Muadh answered confidently, “I shall not fail to make an effort to reach an opinion.” This answer satisfied the Prophet, who concluded, “Praise be to Allah, who has guided His Messenger’s messenger to what satisfied Allah’s Messenger.” (Tirmidhi, Nisai and Abu Dawood).
The hadīth states that, when a person wants to take a decision and is not able to find any kind of reference from the Qur’ān and the life of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم then one should exert utmost power and effort to take a decision, which means that one should use his intellectual and reasoning ability to arrive at an answer. This shows that the Prophet supported the use of ability to reason to take decisions.
Once a Bedouin came to the Prophet and left after the Prophet taught him Islamic orders and prohibitions. Soon he reverted to Islam. Then his kindred asked him, “How could you say that he is a messenger of God?” to which the Bedouin answered, “Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم didn’t order anything to which my reasoning asked me not to do it, and he didn’t prohibit anything to which my reasoning asked me to do.” This instance clearly shows that whatever the Prophet spoke was rational enough for people to believe and accept.
Once Farrah ibn Hubairah came to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and said, “We used to worship idols and goddesses instead of worshiping God the Almighty, we invoked them, yet they didn’t respond to us. We asked them, yet they didn’t answer us, till we came to you and were guided to God through you. So we worship God now.” To which the Prophet said, “He who is blessed with reasoning will prosper.” Thus, from this it is clear that one should reason if he has to attain the truth.
Once a young man came to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and said, “O Messenger of Allah, give me permission to commit zina (unlawful sexual relations).” The people turned to him to rebuke him, saying “Shhuu.” The Prophet said, “Come here,” so he came close to him and he told him to sit down. He said, “Would you like that for your mother?” He said, “No, by Allah, may I be sacrificed for you.” He said, “Nor do people like it for their mothers.” He said, “Would you like it for your daughter?” He said, “No, by Allah, may I be sacrificed for you.” He said, “Nor do people like it for their daughters.” He said, “Would you like it for your sister?” He said, “No, by Allah, may I be sacrificed for you.” He said, “Nor do people like it for their sisters.” He said, “Would you like it for your paternal aunt?” He said, “No, by Allah, may I be sacrificed for you.” He said, “Nor do people like it for their paternal aunts.” He said, “Would you like it for your maternal aunt?” He said, “No, by Allah, may I be sacrificed for you.” He said, “Nor do people like it for their maternal aunts.” Then he placed his hand on him and said, “O Allah, forgive his sin, purify his heart, and guard his chastity,” and after that, this young man never did anything. (Ahmed) From this we can see that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم did not use any ayah from the Qur’ān to motivate him to stop the wrong act but did so with a rational argument.
Hussain (father of Imran ibn Hussain) used to worship seven idols before Islam, considering them gods, and he was a notable man among the Quraish. So some people came to him and told him to talk to Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم as he was putting down his idols and cursed them. Hussain went to Prophet Muhammad and asked him, “We overheard that you are cursing our idols.” To which the Prophet replied, “O Hussain, how many idols do you worship?” He said, “Seven on earth and one in the heaven, which makes it eight.” The Prophet asked, “If you were in hardship, whom do you call?” He said, “I call the one in heavens.” The Prophet again asked, “If you are broken, whom do you call?” He said, “The one in the heavens.” The Prophet then said, “How come you worship those idols with the only one who responds to your supplication? Do you thank Him yet worship others with Him? Do you thank Him and fear your people?” to which Hussain said, “None of those two.” The Prophet said, “Revert to Islam to be safe,” and later Hussain accepted Islam before leaving the assembly. This shows how the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم used a rational approach to speak with the idol worshipper and invited him to worship the one true God.
The Prophet sent Ibn Al-Hadrami to Munzer bin Sawa with his letter asking him to embrace Islam. Al-Hadrami came to the king, listened to his words and told him, “O, Munzer you have an open mind, so don’t be among the closed mind people in the hereafter.” This means that your mind should guide you to Islam otherwise your mind is considered among closed mind people in the hereafter. One of the main aspects of rationalism is thinking with an open mind and when Islam presented to mankind, he is asked to reason with an open mind so that he can be successful in the hereafter.
All these instances show us that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was very much a rational person. Wherever necessary he used the ayahs of the Qur’ān, wherever necessary he used his character and wherever necessary he used a rational argument. Thus, being rational is a part of the Prophet’s life.