Islamic Intellectual Tradition Research Articles

Kasb: A Comparative Study of the Concept of Economics in Islamic and Modern Economics

Kasb literature is a genre of works highlighting the exhortation to work and be involved in worldly material affairs, while being attentive to its perils, on the grounds that true reliance is on God alone and each individual man is responsible for his own actions, which must adhere to the boundaries of ethics and morality (akhlāq). Unlike modern economics, the concept of kasb emerges from the outlook of absolute monotheism; thus, man’s involvement in economic activities from the kasb point of view has spiritual and transcendental purposes. On the other hand, modern economics deals only with the physical and material aspects of life, disregarding especially the metaphysical aspects of man. The usage of the term kasb in referring to economics-related discussions can be found persistently throughout the Islamic intellectual tradition, especially in works concerning ethics and spiritual manuals on embarking on a righteous life. Unfortunately, this genre of literature has been scantily explored to date. Hence, this paper aims to examine and analyse the concept of kasb in the Islamic economic tradition and compare it to its parallel in modern economics. The first section deals with the term kasb as used in the works of past scholars. It will then be followed by the discussion on the concept of kasb and a suggestion on the reorientation of the meaning of economics. Understanding the concept of kasb provides a proper basis for the actualisation of wholesome work (alkasb al-ṭayyib) to attain the overarching objectives of the common good (al-maṣlaḥah al-ʿāmmah) and the good life (al-ḥayāh al-ṭayyibah).

Neurosycal Theory in The Islamic Intellectual Tradition (Critical Analysis of Historical Dimensions in Psychology)

Researchers have widely reviewed the study of neuroscience, but the historicity of this science is not widely known. The rapid development of modern neuroscience cannot be separated from the contributions of Muslim scientists in the Middle Ages. This paper aims to explain the history of neuroscience in the Islamic intellectual tradition and its development to influence Western civilization. For this reason, this paper uses a descriptive-analytical method with library research. The study results show that Muslim scientists such as Abu Zaid Al-Balkh, Ibn Sina, Al-Ghazali Az-Zahrawi, and Al-Razi's contribution to modern neuroscience is impressive and cannot be forgotten. As an example of research on the brain's anatomy and its disorders discussed by Vesalius and Golgi, they refer a lot to books by Ibn Sina, Al-Balkhi, and Al-Zahrawi. Rene Descartes, who discovered the theory of brain physiology, has long been discussed by Al-Razi. Even the introduction of the relationship between brain and brain function was only known in the 17th century and has long been discussed by Al-Ghazali. An original and imaginative thought regarding one of the human body’s organs, Muslims are unaware of the extensive research done on neuroscience by traditional Muslim scholars, who were able to bring Islamic culture to its pinnacle in Andalusia and Cordoba. Therefore, it is appropriate to bring the findings back into the study material with full seriousness in the form and fresh face if Muslims want to advance.

Islamic Intellectual Traditions and Their Relevance to Educational Institutions in Indonesia

This article aims to find out what Islamic intellectual traditions are inherited and the relevance of these traditions to educational institutions in Indonesia today. The article is expected to be useful in adding to the treasures of historical studies and intellectual traditions, as well as these traditions contribute to the preservation of scholarship that existed in the past and see the development of Islamic intellectual traditions today. Islamic intellectual tradition is built on the development of science. Previous scientists inherited the Islamic intellectual tradition, and it is still going on today, especially in the territory of Indonesia. This article attempts to elaborate and show that Islam has an important role to play in establishing the intellectual tradition of Islam today through various lines. It is undeniable that the Islamic intellectual tradition has progressed, sustained by both formal and informal institutions, which began through teaching in huts and pesantren. Islamic intellectual traditions developed with complex variants in the form of traditions covering various Islamic scientific disciplines such as jurisprudence, theology, Sufism, and so on. The process of intellectual tradition takes place in educational institutions today in the form of developing and thinking inherited from intellectuals in the past, such as tradition, memorizing, writing, researching, scientific rihlah, building libraries and formal/non-formal education centers so as to have involvement in the emergence of ideas of the Islamic intellectual tradition today.

The Relevance of the Dars-e-Nizami Curriculum to the Development of Modern Islamic Religious Education in Pakistan

ABSTRACT
 Traditional education in Pakistan has deep and varied roots, primarily due to the cultural and ethnic diversity that exists in the country. The unstoppable flow of globalization threatens to shift cultural heritage including traditional education in Pakistan. Thus, efforts are needed so that traditional education is not abandoned and remains relevant to current developments. The aim of this research is to determine the relevance of the Dars-e-Nizami curriculum for the development of modern Islamic religious education in Pakistan. This research is field research combined with literature study. The data collection instrument used was semi-structured interviews. This research was conducted in 15 school institutions, both formal and informal, in 5 big cities in Pakistan. The results of this research found that the Dars-e-Nizami curriculum has several limitations in terms of relevance to modern needs. Islamic educational institutions retain Dars-e-Nizami for the reason that they see it as a way to preserve and inherit the classical Islamic intellectual tradition as well as to maintain a strong understanding of the Islamic religion among students. Education based on the Dars-e-Nizami curriculum still has an important place in the highly conservative and traditional Muslim community. The implications of this research are that schools in Pakistan do not abandon traditional education or curriculum, but continue to preserve it by making adjustments that are relevant to current developments

Late Antique Intellectualism in Medieval Islam: The Shiraz Circle and the Revival of Ancient and Islamic Knowledge

This article seeks to offer a new reading of how we frame medieval Islamic intellectual traditions in relation to the question of Late Antiquity. It introduces a group of medieval Muslim thinkers, known as the Shiraz Circle, who remain largely unknown to modern scholarship. The main argument is that for these thinkers knowledge of the pre-Islamic past and their Islamic present was mediated by the same lens. The article also examines the main themes in the study of Late Antiquity, such as intellectualism, religion, and philosophy, and the relevance of such themes in medieval Islam.

Orientalism’s Hinduism, Orientalism’s Islam, and the Twilight of the Subcontinental Imagination

Using the figure of the ethnic Pathan/Pashtun as a trope in South Asian culture, this essay provides a genealogical account of the modern emergence of Hindu–Muslim “religious” conflicts played along the lines of nation-thinking in the Indian subcontinent. This modern phenomenon begins in the late 18th century, with the orientalist transcriptions of a vast conglomerate of diverse Indic faiths into a Brahminical–Sanskritic Hinduism and a similar telescoping of complex Islamic intellectual traditions into what we can call a “Mohammedanism” overdetermined by Islamic law. As such, both these transcriptions had to fulfill certain Christological expectations of western anthropology in order to emerge as “religions” and “world religions”, that is, when, as Talal Asad has shown, “religion” was constructed as an anthropological category within the parameters of European secular introspection and the modern expansion of empire. Both Hinduism and Islam therefore had to have a book, a prophetic figure, a doctrinal core, and a singular compendium of laws. Upper caste Sanskritic traditions therefore dominated Hinduism, and a legal supremacist position dominated the modern reckoning of Islam at the expense of philosophy, metaphysics, poesis, and varieties of artistic self-making. Together, the two phenomena also created the historical illusion (now industrialized) that Brahminism always defined Hindu societies and the Sharia was always a total fact of Islam.

‘Islamic Epistemology’ in a Modern Context: Anatomy of an Evolving Debate

ABSTRACT This paper critically analyses how Islamization of Knowledge (IOK), Radical Reform (RR), and Maqasid Methodology (MM), three distinct Islamic intellectual projects, attempted to develop discourses of Islamic epistemology in facing contemporary developments of natural and social sciences. Mainly, the paper focuses on similarities, differences, and potential contributions of all three projects respectively. Initially, this paper observes that IOK, RR, and MM have solid agreements among themselves in defining the core crisis of the modern Islamic intellectual tradition, as well as in highlighting the importance of inclusion of Islamic primary sources and its normative guidance in the process of reorienting modern knowledge. Equally, each of those projects presents itself as a new reflection of Islamic primary texts considering current intellectual challenges. Nevertheless, this paper further finds that all three projects have deep disagreements among themselves in terms of defining the scope of epistemic authority of revelation, reason, and spirituality and thereby offer three different visions of Islamic epistemic schema in facing modern knowledge. Finally, this paper reflects how these differences could potentially impact visions of an alternative education system from an Islamic worldview.

Building Civilization in the Era of Science-Based Globalization & Da'wah


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 History has been a witness, that the existence and absence of knowledge became the benchmark for the glory and fall of a nation. Science is the light of man, the light of his intellect, the generator of civilization, the bringer of happiness. But science doesn't come by itself. It must be sought, studied, pursued, lived and practiced as well as accounted for truthfully. This is the basis for building civilization, namely by making science the largest part of building a civilization. The development and change of an era is a characteristic of the development of human life from one side because of science and education. However, to become a civilization, of course, ethical aspects and noble morals must be conditions that greatly affect the progress of a society. This paper was prepared by utilizing library facilities as a means for collecting primary and secondary source data. The preparation procedure goes through four stages that must be fulfilled in conducting research, namely heuristics, criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The data sources used are written sources which include books, journals and internet sources. The culture of science is an initial prerequisite and an important thing for the glory of a person and a nation. An individual or a nation that has power or wealth that is not maintained let alone developed without a good culture of knowledge, then later he will depend on other people or nations who are more knowledgeable. Speaking of science, of course the concept of science in Islam is different from the concept of science understood in the Western view. So that errors in understanding the concept of science can cause differences in perception of science. The destruction of Western civilization is obviously very dangerous for human survival. Westernization or liberalization becomes a disease for civilization. So the solution to the salvation of human civilization is to jump-start Islamic civilization. A civilization built with the concept of science in Islam. Building a civilization based on science must be an Islamic intellectual tradition, in fact science is the foundation of the structure of the concept of building Islamic civilization. The continuity of this intellectual or scientific tradition cannot be separated from the contribution of scholars in the past in preserving and spreading these sciences. Their contribution to Islamic science actually began since the Prophet Muhammad SAW received a revelation, which was then conveyed to the Companions, so that the revelation conveyed contained the foundations of pure Islamic scholarship.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Secularization of Knowledge in the Age of Reformation

This article argues that the process of secularization of knowledge is essentially related and derived in complex and unintended ways from the doctrinal disagreements of the reformation era. The doctrinal disagreements were dual, between the Christian belief systems and between the monastic, scholastic and humanist movements. These disagreements in many forms also existed in the Islamic intellectual traditions in which the period of the three movements differed from that of Christianity. Conversations between various intellectual movements shall facilitate us in understanding the character of Christendom’s vibrant, varied and sometimes contentious intellectual culture during the reformation, with its monastic, scholastic, scientific and humanistic strands. This will, in turn, enable us to see how this culture and its institutional settings were affected by the reformation. The article will also discuss the contrasting claims of Islamic knowledge tradition on the secularization of knowledge through the development of intellectual movements of scholasticism and humanism in Islam. A significant part of the argument is that the secularization of knowledge in the West was not an inevitable product of the enlightenment. It was rather more of a contingent process derived from the interaction between people, institutions, assumptions, metaphysical belief systems, the exercise of power and human desires. This work has primarily referred to the secondary literature to draw historical inferences, debates and departures in intellectual movements of reformation times, to understand the process of secularization of knowledge.

Munājāt and Ibn al-ʿArabī’s Unity of Being

This paper looks at the mystical topic of munājāt, or intimate dialogue, typically between a worshipper and their Lord, and how it relates to Ibn al-‘Arabī’s waḥdat al-wujūd (Unity of Being). The paper first works to situate munājāt within the current surrounding body of Sufi devotional literature and within the Islamic intellectual tradition. Then the paper goes on to examine how munājāt as prayer reflects and relates to Ibn al-‘Arabī’s larger metaphysical treatises, particularly waḥdat al-wujūd, using crucial concepts such as Barzakh, Imagination, and dhikr (remembrance). From this it may be understood that munājāt is direct communication occurring from God to Himself through the form of man.

فکر اسلامی اوراس کے اولین مصادر: ایک مطالعہ

The Islamic tradition of thought is grounded in a rich body of knowledge that has been developed over centuries, derived from the revealed wisdom of Qur’an & that of the Sunnah (prophetic practices) of the Prophet (PBUH). This knowledge encompasses a broad range of fields, including theology, jurisprudence, ethics, and spirituality, among others. This paper examines the original sources of Islamic thought that have been instrumental in shaping the Islamic intellectual tradition. The paper begins by discussing the Quran, which is the original source of Islamic knowledge, and examines Hadith o Sunnah (sayings and actions) of the Prophet Muhammad and serve as a complementary source of Islamic law and ethics. The paper also explores the role of Ijtihad (deriving guidance from Qur’an & Sunnah through human reason and intellect) in Islamic thought, including the use of logical reasoning and philosophical inquiry to understand Islamic teachings.

A Long Way to God's Mutability: A Response to Ebrahim Azadegan

A Long Way to God's Mutability:A Response to Ebrahim Azadegan Amirhossein Zadyousefi (bio) I. Introduction In his "On the Incompatibility of God's Knowledge of Particulars and the Doctrine of Divine Immutability: Towards a Reform in Islamic Theology" (2020, 2022) Ebrahim Azadegan tries to make room for what he calls a reform in Islamic theology. Affirming that God's knowledge of particulars is inconsistent with God's immutability, Azadegan puts forward a theory of God's knowledge of particulars, inspired from Sadrā's philosophy, which allows one to (1) explain God's knowledge of particulars and (2) hold that God is mutable. That is, Azadegan, accusing Avicenna of having the dogma of God's immutability, abandons God's immutability in favor of God's knowledge of particulars and thinks that a God who knows particulars but is mutable is more perfect than a God who does not know particulars but is immutable. In the present response, I shall show that Azadegan's project is not as easy as he thinks, and I will criticize it. Let us have a short look at Azadegan's project. II. Azadegan's Project Azadegan's 2020 essay consists of three parts. In the following, I will present a brief summary of each. In the first part, Azadegan tries to delineate the main contours of a debate in Islamic intellectual tradition over God's knowledge of particulars—a debate chiefly between Ghazālī and Avicenna—and shows how God's knowledge of particulars is in tension with God's immutability. He summarizes this debate in the following argument: 1. God is omniscient. 2. Every omniscient being knows all past, present, and future particular states of the world and of individuals. 3. Particular states of the world and of individuals change. 4. Every sort of knowledge will change with the change of its object. 5. [Therefore] God's knowledge of occurrent particulars changes. [End Page 166] 6. Knowledge is an intrinsic property of every individual, including God. 7. [Therefore] God's intrinsic property regarding His knowledge of particulars changes. 8. God's intrinsic properties are His essential properties. 9. [Therefore] God's essential properties change. 10. [Therefore] God is not immutable.1 Then he states that God's knowledge of particulars, in both Avicenna's and Ghazālī's views, is inconsistent with God's immutability.2 That is, if one holds that God knows particulars (premise 2), according to the argument above, one has to accept that God is not immutable (premise 10). According to Azadegan, Avicenna denies God's knowledge of particulars, that is, premise 2 of the argument above, in order to avoid its conclusion (premise 10).3 But, Azadegan is well aware that only temporal knowledge of changing particulars entails a change in God's essence. So, he mentions that by introducing knowledge in a universal way Avicenna tries to save premise 2 of the preceding argument while denying its fifth premise.4 But Azadegan thinks that Avicenna's appeal to knowing in a universal way does not help him, and this way of knowing particulars "cannot in the end accommodate God's knowledge of occurrent particulars and the phenomenal states of other minds"5 and "the contents of our senses and particular mental states."6 "God does not" even "know what time it is"7 and "what particular qualitative or phenomenal properties any particular individual has been experiencing when he or she has felt a pain or some other sensation."8 Azadegan states that Avicenna warmly welcomes such a result because Avicenna thinks that God's lack of knowledge of changing particulars partly constitutes God's perfectness.9 But he disagrees with Avicenna and, following Ghazālī, holds that such a God is perfect only in name. Following Ghazālī, Azadegan makes a connection between God's perfectness, God's immutability, and God's knowledge of particulars and holds that a God who knows particulars but is mutable is more perfect than a God who does not know particulars but is immutable.10 He believes that the conception of God introduced by Avicenna (a God who lacks knowledge of changing particulars) does not correspond to the God introduced by...

Islamic Intellectual Tradition between Perennial and Discursive Knowledge

There have been several intellectual discourses and frameworks addressing the philosophical, epistemological and methodological issues relating to the sources of knowledge in Islam in the recent past. Islamization of knowledge championed by Al-Farūqī (1921-1986) and Al-Attas (1931- ) and subsequently contributed to by many other Muslim thinkers like Abu SulaymÉn (1936- ), Al-Al-Wānī (1935- ) etc. was a pinnacle of reviving Islamic intellectual tradition in the contemporary Muslim world. The main objective of this paper is to examine the Islamic intellectual tradition which harmonizes between perennial knowledge (ʿIlm naqlī) and discursive knowledge (ʿIlm ʿaqlī). It is noteworthy to say that, the intellectual redirection and reconstruction of knowledge in the light of Islamic weltanschauung in the recent past have been advocated for by Muslim thinkers. In so doing, the paper makes an attempt to elucidate on the Islamization of contemporary knowledge and contextualization of Islamic intellectual tradition in order to make it relevant to the contemporary needs of the Muslims. The paper identifies that the existing gulf or dichotomy between revealed and acquired knowledge is the core inhibiting factor militating against the revival of Islamic intellectualism in the contemporary Muslim world. It further argues that if Islamic intellectual tradition must be contextualized, the integration between perennial knowledge (ʿIlm naqlī) and discursive knowledge ʿIlm ʿaqlī) is essential. In conclusion, Islamic intellectual tradition does not separate between religious and non-religious knowledge as reflected in the contributions of classical Muslim scholars such as Al-kindī, Al-Khawarizmī, Al-Farābī, Birūnī, Ibn Sīna, Al- GhazzÉlÊ, Al-Shirazī among others. It is thereby recommended that Muslim intellectuals, scholars, researchers and thinkers should take up the challenge of addressing the disintegration between revealed and acquired knowledge especially by harmonizing the aspects together in order to promote development through knowledge to manage self and the knowledge to manage the system as coined by a great Muslim thinker, Sidek Baba as a central focus of contemporary discourse of Islamic intellectual tradition in the era of multifarious challenges.

Escaping Plato’s Cave as a Mystical Experience: A Survey in Sufi Literature

This paper puts forward a mystical reading of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave by comparing it with some allegories from Sufi literature, Islamic mystical tradition. The paper argues that the determining parts of the allegory, such as escaping the cave as the world of shadows; seeing the sun/truth and becoming a philosopher; and the necessity of returning to the cave, have significant similarities to what Sufis have said about their mystical experience and spiritual enlightenment. The paper compares the Allegory of the Cave with some similar allegories in Sufi literature, focusing on the allegories of prison, hunting the shadows of a flying bird, dying before dying, and the elephant in the dark Room in Rumi’s works. After an introduction to the reception of Plato in the Islamic intellectual tradition and different interpretations of the Allegory of the Cave, this paper discusses four similarities between these allegories. Finally, the paper supports the mystical reading of Plato’s Cave by using Pierre Hadot’s thesis on Philosophy as a Way of Life, which challenges the sharp dichotomy of philosophy and mysticism in mainstream intellectual historiography.

شبهات جولد تسيهر حول تفسير ابن عباس من خلال كتاب "مذاهب التفسير الإسلامي" عرض ونقد

Goldziher’s studies are among the important orientalist works of the 20th century that focused on criticisms of the Islamic heritage. His book Die richtungen der Islamischen koranauslegung is a specialised study on the history of Quranic exegesis in Islamic intellectual tradition. He raised several suspicions regarding the interpretation of Ibn Abbas, the companion of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). This study analysed and responded to these suspicions by collecting the sayings of Goldziher pertaining to Ibn Abbas according to the inductive method and then analysing and criticising them using analytical and critical approaches. The study concludes that Goldziher had a selective approach in dealing with the narratives in which he disregarded the scientific methodology for scrutinising and criticising narratives, besides making claims without evidence to serve his goals.

The Crisis of Modern Subjectivity: Rethinking Muhammad Iqbal and the Islamic Tradition

Despite the numerous books and articles on the thought and legacy of Muḥammad Iqbāl (d. 1938), hardly any significant academic studies exist that critically evaluate his philosophical thought in relation to his Muslim predecessors. The present article thus intervenes in the field of Iqbāl studies by challenging current scholarly assessments that present Iqbāl as a heroic reformer of Islam. This article is composed of three parts. It begins by providing a critical review of various scholarly treatments of Iqbāl's reformist thought and draws attention to problematic aspects of the current state of such scholarship. The article then proceeds to examine the ways in which Iqbāl's works frequently misconstrue or misrepresent various premodern Islamic texts and doctrines. It does so in two ways. The first of these involves an examination of Iqbāl's Eurocentric reading of premodern Islamic intellectual traditions and demonstrates that this is not only methodologically problematic but moreover undermined by Iqbāl's own limited grasp of modern scientific theories, such as evolution and the theory of relativity. This is followed by an examination of the concepts of selfhood (khūdī) and annihilation of the self (fanā'). Prominently featured in Iqbāl's thought and writings, his treatment of these two concepts illustrates the problematic aspects of his particular mode of interpreting premodern Islamic philosophy and Sufism. Overall, this article demonstrates that Iqbāl's status as a heroic reformer of Islam is misleading, as his interpretation of the premodern Islamic tradition is not as credible as it has often been presented to be over the past century.

Platonism in Service to the Ism???l? Im?m: The Case of Ab? Ya‘q?b al-Sijist?n? (d. 971 CE)

This short essay examines the Platonic thought of the Shī'ī Ismā'īlī scholar Abū Ya'qūb al-Sijistānī (d. 971 CE). By presenting his own teachings as the inner understanding of Islam, al-Sijistānī was able to challenge prominent scholarly claims to normative interpretation within the greater Islamic milieu. As students of Ismā'īlī thought know well, the intentions of the early Ismā'īlī thinkers cannot be simplistically reduced to an adaptation of Platonic metaphysics or a subversive reading of scripture. Rather, al-Sijistānī created a uniquely Ismā'īlī philosophical theology with its own soteriological aims and religious worldview, while working closely to demonstrate the leadership of the Ismā'īlī imam. When approached in this way, al-Sijistānī's project of constructing a synthesis between Platonism and religious traditions foregrounds the breadth of interpretive diversity within the classical Islamic intellectual traditions. By examining short excerpts on the nature of the soul and religion from al-Sijistānī's Ithbāt al-Nubūwwa (Prophecy's Proof), this essay demonstrates the text's instrumental use of Platonism in explaining the emergence of religion as understood by the early Ismā'īlī movement. Al-Sijistānī's own thoughts on the absolute transcendence of God and the Platonic principles of Intellect and Soul led him to new speculative conclusions that sharply contrasted with other major and competing interpretations of Islam. Chief among these was his belief that scripture had an inner meaning apart from its literal content, which could only be revealed by the imam and his representatives, who were thus the legitimate religious authorities for the Islamic community.

Cosmic Order in the Microcosm: Ethical Guidance in Post-Classical Astronomy Texts

Abstract This article is the first to focus on statements about ethical guidance in post-classical astronomy texts. A number of astronomers in post-classical Islamic societies remarked that the study of astronomy, specifically the mathematical analysis of the uniform motions of the celestial orbs, had ethical benefits. These astronomers’ statements are significant because, through them, scholars can learn more about the role of reason in Islamic thought and about sources of ethical guidance other than Sharīʿa and philosophical ethics. The details of the ethical guidance imparted by the study of astronomy tell us more about the relationship between astronomy and the disciplines of fiqh and kalām, respectively. The existence of ethical guidance in astronomy texts is additional evidence that post-classical astronomy texts were part of an Islamic intellectual tradition.

A Long Way to God’s Mutability: a Reply to Azadegan

1 A Long Way to God’s Mutability: a Reply to Azadegan Amirhossein Zadyousefi Department of Philosophy, Tarbiat Modares University (TMU), Tehran, Iran amirhosein.zadyusefi@modares.ac.ir Abstract: In “on the incompatibility of God's knowledge of particulars and the doctrine of divine immutability: Towards a reform in Islamic theology” Ebrahim Azadegan tries to make a room for what he calls a reform in Islamic theology. Affirming that God’s knowledge of particulars is inconsistent with God’s immutability, Azadegan puts forward a theory of God’s knowledge of particulars, inspired from Sadrā’s philosophy, which allows one to (i) explain God’s knowledge of particulars and (ii) hold that God is mutable. That is, Azadegan, accusing Avicenna of having the dogma of God’s immutability, abandons God’s immutability in favor of God’s knowledge of particulars and thinks that a God who knows particulars but is mutable is more perfect than a God who does not know particulars but is immutable. In this paper, I shall show that Azadegan’s project is not as easy as he thinks and will criticize it. Keywords: God’s knowledge of particulars, God’s mutability, God’s knowledge by presence, Avicenna, Azadegan 2 1. Introduction In “on the incompatibility of God's knowledge of particulars and the doctrine of divine immutability: Towards a reform in Islamic theology” Ebrahim Azadegan tries to make a room for what he calls a reform in Islamic theology. Affirming that God’s knowledge of particulars is inconsistent with God’s immutability, Azadegan puts forward a theory of God’s knowledge of particulars, inspired from Sadrā’s philosophy, which allows one to (i) explain God’s knowledge of particulars and (ii) hold that God is mutable. That is, Azadegan, accusing Avicenna of having the dogma of God’s immutability, abandons God’s immutability in favor of God’s knowledge of particulars and thinks that a God who knows particulars but is mutable is more perfect than a God who does not know particulars but is immutable. In this paper, I shall show that Azadegan’s project is not as easy as he thinks and will criticize it. Let us have a short look at Azadegan’s project. 2. Azadegan’s Project Azadegan’s paper consists in three parts. In the following, I will present a brief summary of these parts. In the first part of his paper, Azadegan tries to delineate the main contours of a debate in Islamic intellectual tradition over God’s knowledge of particulars – a debate chiefly between Ghazālī and Avicenna – and shows how God’s knowledge of particulars is in tension with God’s immutability. He summarizes this debate in the following argument: 1. God is omniscient. 2. Every omniscient being knows all past, present, and future particular states of the world and of individuals. 3. Particular states of the world and of individuals change. 3 4. Every sort of knowledge will change with change of its object. 5. [Therefore] God’s knowledge of occurrent particulars changes. 6. Knowledge is an intrinsic property of every individual, including God. 7. [Therefore] God’s intrinsic property regarding His knowledge of particulars changes. 8. God’s intrinsic properties are His essential properties. 9. [Therefore] God’s essential properties change. 10. [Therefore] God is not immutable.1 and then states that God’s knowledge of particulars, in both Avicenna’s and Ghazālī’s views, is inconsistent with God’s immutability.2 That is, if one holds that God knows particulars (premise 2), according to the above argument, one has to accept God is not immutable (premise 10). According to Azadegan, Avicenna denies God’s knowledge of particulars, i.e., premise 2 of the above argument, in order to avoid its conclusion (premise 10).3 But, Azadegan is well aware that only temporal knowledge of changing particulars entails a change in God’s essence. So, he mentions that Avicenna by introducing knowledge in a universal way tries to save premise 2 of the above argument while denying its 5th premise.4 But, Azadegan thinks that Avicenna’s appeal to knowing in a universal way does not help him and this way of knowing particulars “cannot in...

Prophetic Hadith and the Qur’ān-Only Movement: The Response of Muslim Scholars

Abstract: This article explores the Qur’ān-only movement, which advocates for the exclusive interpretation of Islam based on the Qur’ān without reference to the Prophetic Hadith. This movement emerged in the nineteenth century and represents a departure from traditional Islamic scholarship. To shed light on the complex intersection between religious tradition and modernity, this essay discusses the influence of modernity and Westernization on the development of Qur’ānist thought. It then provides a succinct overview of two primary contentions maintained by Muslim scholars who oppose the Qur’ānist movement. The first argument concerns the authority of ḥadīth, while the second concerns their authenticity and historical reliability. With regard to the former, traditional Muslim scholars underscore the significance of the Prophet’s life for deriving Islamic belief and practice from the Qur’ān, knowledge which can only be acquired from the Hadith. The second argument examined here involves the ways in which Islamic scholars defend the authenticity of the Prophetic Hadith with probabilistic reasoning, suggesting that rejecting the Hadith solely based on the absence of absolute certainty is not reasonable or consistent with the broader Islamic intellectual tradition. They argue that accepting something that is probable but not certain is common in many fields of study, including ḥadīth scholarship. In the science of ḥadīth ( ‘ilm al-ḥadīth ), scholars have developed what they consider to be sophisticated methods to evaluate the authenticity of ḥadīth reports based on various degrees of probability. Therefore, they advocate for an approach that acknowledges the role of probability in ḥadīth scholarship while upholding the rigorous standards of authenticity and reliability that have been developed over centuries of Islamic scholarship.