How can one respond to a friend who partially believes in Islam but rejects rulings such as cutting off the hand, the matter of concubines and captives, and the young age of Aisha - may Allah be pleased with her - claiming that these contradict reason and that he is not obligated to believe in something whose wisdom he does not comprehend?

The faith mentioned is faith in the intellect and its ability to determine rulings, whereas faith in God is based on submission to His judgment, obedience to His messengers, and contentment with His Lordship and Divinity. The soundness of attributing a ruling to the religion of Allah the Almighty is sufficient for a believer to accept it, even if the intellect is perplexed by it, because intellects vary, and human thought is influenced by one's upbringing and environment. The intellect has a limit it cannot exceed, nor can it fully comprehend the wisdom of the Wisest of Rulers. Al-Shatibi mentioned that among the causes of innovation in the Sharia is the reliance on the intellect and an excessive good opinion of it, for intellects have a limit and do not comprehend everything. Scholars have counted an excessive good opinion of the intellect among the impulses for innovation, as an innovator relies on his limited intellect, which leads him into error and innovation.

The intellect must prioritize the Sacred Law and postpone everything else. If the Sacred Law contains reports that defy common experience, then one must either affirm them and entrust their knowledge to those firmly grounded in knowledge, or interpret them in a way that is possible. It is not permissible for a believer to reject what has been established from Allah and His Messenger, neither by claiming it contradicts the intellect nor by any other means.