Beyond the Chains of Dogma: Reconceiving the Divine in Contemporary Philosophy and Islamic Thought (2025)

"Approaches to the Knowledge of God in Classical Islamic Thought"

The Modern Experience of the Religious, 2023

This article explores and discusses different approaches—the theological, the philo- sophical, and the Sufi—to the knowledge and experience of God within the Islamic intellectual tradition. Throughout the discussion the question that arises is to what kind of knowledge or experience of God do each of these approaches lead. The mutakallimūn (theologians) and the philosophers formulate convincing arguments for the existence of God and His nature. However, the deductive reasoning they both employ has its limits, and their methods contrast with theoretical or speculative Sufism, whose aim is to engage deeply in the systematic account of the experiential knowledge of God. After revising the scope of the arguments for the existence of God of al-Ashʿarī and al-Ghazālī, and then, the arguments of some Peripatetic philosophers of the Islamic classical period, I focus the debate on the contrast between the deduc- tive reasoning and the intuitive knowledge of God according to theoretical or specula- tive Sufism, introducing Suhrawardī and Ibn ʿArabī. Finally, the article concludes with some remarks and a brief disquisition on what could be the correct path to the knowl- edge of God.

Understanding God as Reality: Analysis of the Ontological Approach in the Tradition of Islamic Philosophy and Sufism

Journal of Islamic thought and civilization, 2022

In contrast to the West, which considers God as a myth and negates values about reality and truth, the Muslim philosophers and Sufis base their knowledge on the concept of God that has been established in Islam. This article describes the approach of the Sufis and the Muslim philosophers regarding God as reality and truth. By using the descriptive analysis method, this study draws conclusions based on various arguments: first, there is a meeting point between the two, especially in terms of 'al-Haqq' as one of the 'Names' (asmā) of Allah which also means 'reality' and 'truth' which are linguistically unified. Therefore, everything that is called 'reality' has to do with the existence of God which provides wisdom behind all reality as God's creation. Because God created reality with a 'true' purpose. Second, despite the fundamental differences in various worldviews, the West has never assumed that God is Reality in itself because its worldview has negated the Diversity of metaphysical reality. This is also affirmed, only at the metaphysical level as 'speculative science' or 'noumena' in Kant's account. Third, different from the West in Islam, there are various treasures of intellectual property discussions about God as Reality. Although there are many schools in understanding God as Reality, the Muslims have almost the same opinion because they affirm revelation as the only authoritative source of explanation for the concept of God.

A Metaphysical Inquiry into Islamic Theism

Routledge, 2023

This chapter aims to draw on the critical threads of those vibrant theological conversations within the formative years of Islamic thought in considering the different theological models of the Divine within the broader Islamic tradition under the purview of classical theism as it is understood today in the contemporary philosophy of religion. In doing so, it makes reference to the major strands within the theological (‘ilm al-kalām & atharī scripturalism) and philosophical (falsafa) schools of the Islamic tradition. It aims to consider how these different trends, schools, and thinkers construct a model of God in light of the classical and neo-classical theistic model of God.

The Philosophical Proof for God’s Existence between Europe and the Islamic World: Reflections on an Entangled History of Philosophy and Its Contemporary Relevance

Asiatische Studien - Études Asiatiques

The Argument for God’s Existence is one of the major issues in the history of philosophy. It also constitutes an illuminating example of a shared philosophical problem in the entangled intellectual histories of Europe and the Islamic World. Drawing on Aristotle, various forms of the argument were appropriated by both rational Islamic Theology (kalām) and Islamic philosophers such as Avicenna. Whereas the argument, reshaped, refined and modified, has been intensively discussed throughout the entire post-classical era, particularly in the Islamic East, it has likewise been adopted in the West by thinkers such as the Hebrew Polymath Maimonides and the Medieval Latin Philosopher and Theologian Thomas Aquinas. However, these mutual reception-processes did not end in the middle ages. They can be witnessed in the twentieth century and even up until today: On the one hand, we see a Middle Eastern thinker like the Iranian philosopher Mahdī Ḥāʾirī Yazdī re-evaluating Kant’s fundamental critiq...

WHAT IS RELIGION? AN EYE ON IDEAS IN WESTERN PHILOSOPHY FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF ISLAM

This research paper is to be a comparative work describing the certain properties of life, man, thought, belief, religion, and philosophy from the viewpoint of different philosophers and from the viewpoint of Islam. The aim of this paper is to explain these topics from the viewpoint of Islam. Furthermore, to show limitations of certain philosophers’ views in this matter and why, if applied to Islam, they cannot produce adequate explanations. The aforesaid aim of this paper is achieved by means of the collection of works called Risale-i Nur by Bediuzzaman Said Nursî, a commentary (tefsir) of the Qur’an.. The limitations of this study are 1) time (we never have enough), 2) Scope of arguments, 3) Scope of counter-arguments

God and Human in Islamic Metaphysics: Ibn al-Arabī and the Wahdat al-Wujūd Tradition by Ekrem Demirli, Istanbul, Kabalci: 2009

Nazariyat Dergisi

Although it is asserted that studies on Islamic thought in Turkish have recently reached a high level of sophistication, the interaction points between the research disciplines of theology, philosophy, Sufism studies and the bases for Islamic metaphysical thinking in these disciplines have not yet been brought to light. The first studies in this area, which observed the Akhbārī tradition that developed after Ibn al-Arabī, examined the wahdat al-wujūd (unitiy of existence) and the sources of this school in pre-Islamic traditions of thought. Disabled by reductionism, this approach frequently caused an ambiguity that prevents determination of the kind of contributions Muslim thinkers provided to metaphysical thinking at any point in the history. The present study by Demirli, first, claims to offer a step toward eliminating this ambiguity.

Reflections on the Growth and Development of Islamic Philosophy

2013

As a result of secular dimension that the Western philosophy inclines to, many see philosophy as a phenomenon that cannot be attributed to religion, which led to hasty conclusion in some quarters that philosophy is against religion and must be seen and treated as such. This paper looks at the concept of philosophy in general and Islamic philosophy in particular. It starts by examining Muslim philosophers’ understanding of philosophy, and the wider meanings it attained in their philosophical thought, which do not only reflect in their works but also manifest in their deeds and lifestyles. The paper also tackles the stereotypes about the so-called “replication of Greek philosophy in Islamic philosophy.” It further unveils a total transformation and a more befitting outlook of Islamic philosophy accorded the whole enterprise of philosophy. It also exposes the distinctions between the Islamic philosophy and Western philosophy. Keywords : Islam, Philosophy, Reason, Revelation

Classical Islamic Philosophy: A Thematic Introduction

Classical Islamic Philosophy: A Thematic Introduction, 2022

This thematic introduction to classical Islamic philosophy focuses on the most prevalent philosophical debates of the medieval Islamic world and their importance within the history of philosophy. Approaching the topics in a comprehensive and accessible way in this new volume, Luis Xavier López-Farjeat, one of the co-editors of The Routledge Companion to Islamic Philosophy, makes classical Islamic philosophy approachable for both the new and returning student of the history of philosophy, medieval philosophy, the history of ideas, classical Islamic intellectual history, and the history of religion. Providing readers with a complete view of the most hotly contested debates in the Islamic philosophical tradition, López-Farjeat discusses the development of theology (kalām) and philosophy (falsafa) during the ʿAbbāsid period, including the translation of Aristotle into Arabic, the philosophy and theology of Islamic revelation, logic and philosophy of language, philosophy of natural science, metaphysics, psychology and cognition, and ethics and political philosophy. This volume serves as an indispensable tool for teachers, students, and independent learners aiming to discover the philosophical problems and ideas that defined the classical Islamic world.

The Labyrinth of Philosophy in Islam

This paper focuses on the methodological issues related to the obstacles and potential horizons of approaching the philosophical traditions in Islam from the standpoint of comparative studies in philosophy, while also presenting selected casestudies that may potentially illustrate some of the possibilities of renewing the impetus of a philosophical thought that is inspired by Islamic intellectual history. This line of inquiry is divided into two parts: the first deals with questions of methodology, and the second focuses on ontology and phenomenology of perception, by way of offering pathways in investigating the history of philosophical and scientific ideas in Islam from the viewpoint of contemporary debates in philosophy. A special emphasis will be placed on: (a) interpreting the ontology of the eleventh century metaphysician Ibn Sīnā (known in Latin as: Avicenna; d. 1037 CE) in terms of rethinking Heidegger's critique of the history of metaphysics, and (b) analyzing the philosophical implications of the theory of vision of the eleventh century polymath Ibn al-Haytham (known in Latin as Alhazen; d. ca. 1041 CE) in terms of reflecting on Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of perception.

Unveiling the Sacred: Jacques Derrida's Philosophical Ideas and Their Application to Theological Hermeneutics, by Carlos Ramalho

This paper explores the philosophical ideas of Jacques Derrida and their application to theological hermeneutics, offering a deconstructive lens through which sacred texts and doctrines can be reimagined. It begins by outlining Derrida's intellectual biography and the core principles of deconstruction, such as différance and the critique of logocentrism, and demonstrates how these ideas challenge traditional approaches to interpretation. The discussion then examines how deconstruction enriches theological hermeneutics by embracing textual ambiguity, uncovering marginalized voices, and fostering interfaith and ethical dialogue. Despite critiques of Derrida's methods as promoting relativism or undermining theological certainty, this paper argues that deconstruction does not dismantle theology but deepens it, encouraging a dynamic, inclusive, and reflective engagement with faith. By applying Derrida's thought to doctrines, rituals, and contemporary movements like liberation theology, the paper highlights the transformative potential of deconstruction for modern theological scholarship. Through a multidisciplinary and multilingual approach, it seeks to provoke critical reflection and open new pathways for understanding the interplay between language, faith, and the sacred.