Explain limitations on the use of logic in Islamic philosophy (falsafah).

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2025). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [10] Reasoning or logic may be defined as reasoned deduction and was used to great effect by ancient Greek rational thinkers and philosophers, which influenced learning in the ancient world and whose works were translated and read by Islamic scholars.
2. [10] Nevertheless, Islamic scholars were bound by the revelations in the Qur'an, regardless of what logical deductions they made. If anyone deduced something which was not in accordance with orthodox interpretation of the revealed word, this was considered heretical and unacceptable.
3. [10] Despite this, wide ranging use of reasoning (falsafah) was employed by several Islamic scholars. The extent to which logic could be employed varied according to scholar, time and place.
4. [10] Reasoning was sometimes employed in specific debates, such as about the creation of the universe. Ibn Sina said that logically there must have been a first cause, and Ibn Rushd said that the movement of the planets must have been a reasoned continuation of the initial force which propelled them to move. Both followed suggestions in the Qur'an that God brought the planets together and split them asunder, so using revelation and logic in harmony.
5. [10] Logical reasoning could include observation and speculation. Observation was widely used by scientists who tried to define natural laws based on what they saw. These were regarded as logical interpretations of what God had created and the discovery of more details about God's pre-ordained world.
6. [10] Speculation was used by Islamic scholars Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina and Al-Kindi. This pushed the limits of the use of logic, but they did not employ speculation to the extent of the ancient Greeks because speculation of anything not in accordance with the revealed Qur'an was off-limits.
7. [10] The Mu'tazilah regarded the use of reasoning and philosophy as acceptable because they saw humankind as completely separate from God and the Qur'an as human in written form, so therefore humans could engage in speculative philosophy.
8. [10] However, the Mu'tazilah were not accepted as mainstream and in time al-Ghazali and other scholars steered Islam towards a more conservative approach with further limits on the use of logic.
9. [15] Reasoning/logic is a process of rational argument and leading on one step to the next using evidence and reasoning. It was used by ancient Greek scholars and arguably by Muslims under the 'Abbasids.
10. [15] Reasoning for Muslims is totally dependent on the pre-destined will of God, so if this seems different from what is logically derived, then God's revealed word always comes first and cannot be questioned.
11. [15] The process of discussion and use of logical reasoning in the centres of learning of 'Abbasid Baghdad was mostly centred around religious scholarship and interpretation of religious texts, specifically the Qur'an and Hadith. Greek use of logical reasoning had no such bounds and was organised around public forums where people openly debated topics.
12. [15] The differences can be seen in questions such as the creation of the universe, which was bound by a creator God for Muslims, but could be more widely discussed by the Greeks, including options that there was no single creator at all and that the universe had an infinite past, whereas to Muslims the universe must have been created at a point by God who was infinite and beyond the universe.
13. [15] The process of defining a question and then looking for proof was pioneered by the Ancient Greek Aristotle, in his use of logic. This was also developed by Ibn Sina and was important for Islamic scientists who could use this approach to test theories.
14. [15] Muslims translated and discussed works by Aristotle and other ancient Greeks, and these influenced the terms of debate and discussion, suggesting that even if there were some differences of approach, they were not totally different, and the use of logic was common in the houses of discussion in Baghdad.
15. [15] Ibn al-Haytham wrote about the use of logic and questioning in the search for truth, which he saw as a religious duty, and so used some of the language and processes of ancient Greek logic, even if his desire to do so was to gain further knowledge about God, an anathema for Greek logic.
16. [15] It might be concluded that the use of logical reasoning was different due to the bounds of belief in God, but that some aspects in the process of logical argument were common to both – the extent of difference and similarity could be discussed.