Understanding and interpretation rely on inferential reasoning, and since the conventional meaning of words alone cannot determine the author’s intent, we formulate semantic hypotheses to grasp the intended meaning, hypotheses that can explain the textual evidence.
The optimal interpretation of such evidence is then regarded as the meaning derived from the text itself. This implies that interpretation relies on the same inferential process that forms the methodology of the empirical sciences. Thus, on one hand, both empirical sciences and the interpretation of sacred texts depend on inferential reasoning based on evidence. On the other hand, from a religious standpoint, the evidence present in both, natural phenomena and sacred texts is attributed to Allah, Almighty.
As a result, in the absence of independent evidence, a religious individual cannot give greater credibility to one over the other, nor prioritize one above the other, assuming an irreconcilable conflict exists between them.
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