Is the narration by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, "I have warned you against the difficulties of logic (sa'ab al-mantiq)," authentic? Is there any mention of "logic (al-mantiq)" in early Islam? What is the origin of the word "al-mantiq," and does it refer to what is accepted by correct speech?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Aristotelian logic was not known at the dawn of Islam, nor was it used by the Companions and the Tabi'un (generation after the Companions); rather, it was translated during the Abbasid era. Ibn Mas'ud's saying, "I warn you against the difficulties of logic," refers to intricate jurisprudential issues and obscurities that are not beneficial in religion and may incite discord, or it refers to excessive speech and the blights of the tongue, and not to Aristotelian logic.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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