Rules of Scholarly Debate

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وَكَانَ الدَّاعِي إِلَى إِفْرَادِ عِلْمِ الجَدَلِ بِالتَّصْنِيفِ مَعَ أَنَّهُ فَرْعٌ مِنْ فُرُوعِ عِلْمِ النَّظَرِ وَالخِلَافِ

The motivation for dedicating a separate classification to the science of dialectic, even though it is a branch of the sciences of reasoning and dispute, was...

أَنَّهُ لَمَّا كَانَ بَابُ المُنَاظَرَةِ فِي الرَّدِّ وَالقُبُولِ مُتَّسِعًا وَكُلُّ وَاحِدٍ مِنَ المُتَنَاظِرِينَ فِي الاِسْتِدْلَالِ وَالجَوَابِ يُرْسِلُ عِنَانَهُ فِي الاِحْتِجَاجِ وَمِنْهُ مَا يَكُونُ صَوَابًا وَمِنْهُ مَا يَكُونُ خَطَأً

that since the field of debate in rejection and acceptance was wide, and each debater in reasoning and answering would let loose his reins in argumentation, some of it being correct and some incorrect,

فَاحْتَاجَ الأَئِمَّةُ إِلَى أَنْ يَضَعُوا آدَابًا وَأَحْكَامًا يَقِفَ المُتَنَاظِرَانِ عِنْدَ حُدُودِهَا فِي الرَّدِّ وَالْقُبُولِ

the scholars needed to establish etiquette and rules that debaters must adhere to in rejection and acceptance,

وَكَيْفَ يَكُونُ حَالُ المُسْتَدِلِّ وَالمُجِيبِ وَحَيْثُ يَسُوغُ لَهُ أَنْ يَكُونَ مُسْتَدِلًّا وَكَيْفَ يَكُونُ مَخْصُومًا مُنْقَطِعًا

and how the condition of the reasoner and respondent should be, when it is permissible for them to be reasoning, and how one becomes refuted and silenced,

وَمَحَلُّ اِعْتِرَاضِهِ أَوْ مُعَارَضَتِهِ وَأَيْنَ يَجِبُ عَلَيْهِ السُّكُوتُ وَلِخَصْمِهِ الكَلَامُ وَالِاسْتِدْلَالُ

the place of their objections or oppositions, and where one must remain silent while their opponent speaks and reasons.

قَالَهُ اِبْنُ خَلْدُونَ ٣

Ibn Khaldun said this.

وَقَدْ وَصَفَ لَنَا شَيْخُ الإِسْلَامِ اِبْنُ تَيْمِيَّةَ هَذِهِ المَرْحَلَةَ وَصْفًا يَكْشِفُ لَنَا حَقِيقَتَهَا وَخَصَائِصَهَا وَمِيزَاتِهَا وَمَا لَهَا وَمَا عَلَيْهَا

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah described this phase with a description that reveals its nature, characteristics, and advantages and disadvantages,

فَقَالَ ثُمَّ صَارَ المُتَأَخِّرُونَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ قَدْ يَتَنَاظَرُونَ فِي أَنْوَاعِ التَّأْوِيلِ وَالقِيَاسِ بِمَا يُؤَثِّرُ فِي ظَنِّ بَعْضِ النَّاسِ

and he said: "Then later generations debated forms of interpretation and analogy that influence the thinking of some,

وَإِنْ كَانَ عِنْدَ التَّحْقِيقِ يَؤُولُ إِلَى الإِفْلاَسِ لَكِنَّهُمْ لَمْ يَكُونُوا يَقْبَلُونَ مِنَ المُنَاظَرَةِ إِلاَّ مَا يُفِيدُ وَلَوْ ظَنًّا ضَعِيفًا لِلنَّاظِرِ

although upon closer examination it leads to nothing, they would only accept from debate what was beneficial, even if it gave only a weak impression to the observer.