The Decisive Treatise

A short work in the form of a legal opinion by Ibn Rushd, who was a judge as well as a philosopher. It asks whether the religious Law permits, forbids or commands the study of philosophy and logic. Ibn Rushd answers that the Qur'an calls believers to reflect on the beings of the world, so that demonstrative reasoning is obligatory for those capable of it, and that one may learn from the works of the ancients whatever their religion. Since truth does not contradict truth, any conflict between demonstration and the apparent sense of scripture must be resolved by interpreting the text. He divides people into three classes, persuaded by demonstrative, dialectical or rhetorical arguments, and insists that interpretations should not be revealed to the many. He also answers al-Ghazālī's charge of unbelief against the philosophers, arguing that on the eternity of the world, God's knowledge and the resurrection the disagreement is narrower than it seems.

It is the classic argument that philosophy and revelation can agree, and it remains a starting point for debates about religion, reason and who may interpret scripture.