M1:2150 — گرنه نامعقول بودی این مزه / کی بدی حاجت به چندین معجزه

Translation: Were this 'taste' not beyond reason, / When would there be a need for so many miracles? Meaning: This verse suggests that if certain aspects of religious teachings weren't inherently perplexing to ordinary intellect, prophets would not have required miracles to validate their claims.

This verse emerges from the story of Estān Hannāneh, the weeping pillar that lamented when the Prophet (PBUH) ceased leaning against it. Mowlana explicitly points to certain aspects of religion as nam'aqool (unreasonable or irrational) within this narrative. By nam'aqool, he refers to that which conventional reason rejects, cannot accept, or fails to fully comprehend.

I have often asserted that the miracles of the prophets, and indeed some of their claims and practices, were not meant to provide rational proof. Rather, they served to subdue a rebellious intellect. What is reasonable, reason itself consumes and understands; it presents no difficulty. However, in the work of the prophets, it is the nam'aqool elements that are present, challenging the intellect's capacity for endurance, often provoking antagonism. It is at such junctures that prophets are compelled to perform miracles, thereby neutralizing reason's opposition.

A helpful illustration for this concept is the act of the second Caliph, Omar, who once addressed the Black Stone saying, "Had the Prophet not kissed you, I would not have either." What is the meaning of kissing a stone? Such an act defies conventional reason, yet the Prophet undoubtedly knew why he did it. Thus, the act of following a spiritual leader, from the perspective of conventional reason, is nam'aqool itself.

I also consider du'a (prayer) to be one of religion's greatest rāz (mysteries), which is nam'aqool. Our great thinkers, from Avicenna to Mulla Sadra, could not unravel the secret of prayer or the mechanism of its acceptance. Prayer has not been taught in any God-believing philosophical school; it is among the secrets revealed only by prophets. Prayer is khirad-goriz (reason-elusive), meaning it evades the grasp of pure intellect, but it is not khirad-setiz (reason-defying), as it bears no enmity towards reason and does not deny it. The word mazeh here refers to a portion of this spiritual food and experience with which reason does not easily reconcile. The essence of religiosity and knowledge of God lies in wonder, pain, and love, and this hidden core sometimes wears garments of unreasonableness that can only be perceived by the eye of the heart and heard by the ear of the soul.

Key takeaways

• Certain aspects of religion are nam'aqool (unreasonable) and incomprehensible to conventional intellect.
• Prophetic miracles emerged to subdue and reposition rebellious reason, not to provide rational proof of truth.
• The term mazeh (taste) in this verse refers to a portion of religious experience that challenges reason.
• Acts like kissing the Black Stone or engaging in prayer exemplify these reason-elusive dimensions of faith.
• Religion's nam'aqool nature implies it is khirad-goriz (reason-elusive), not khirad-setiz (reason-defying).