The Place of Intellect in Islam "The first thing created by God
was the Intellect" (hadith) In the following discussion on the
place of intellect in Islam, the analogy of a computer may help
clarify some of the points made. This is an analogy used only to
provoke some thought and is not meant to be carried too far.
There is, after all, no such thing as a perfect analogy. A
perfect analogy would, in fact, BE the thing described. Imagine
the screen and all activity on the screen to represent the world
of material existence. The screen is considered as the
horizontal dimension of the computer. A program is running that
simulates a small universe complete with simulated beings (with
senses that let them interact with other objects on the screen)
and simulated laws (much like some computer games) - the
attempts of the beings to understand the environment (on the
screen) represents science and all its branches (physics,
chemistry etc.). This science can give these fictional beings an
understanding and control over