- Sociology, International Relations, Political Science, Philosophy, Islam, Paraconsistent logic, and 12 moreNonexistent Objects, Modal Meinongianism, Mutazilisme, Noneism, Dialetheism, Arabic Logic, Alexius Meinong, History, Philosophy Of Religion, Islamic philosophy and theology, Greek Literature, and Arabic Language and Literatureedit
- Researcher in Philosophy, Sufism, Theology and general Islamic Studies. An educational curriculum consultant and prof... moreResearcher in Philosophy, Sufism, Theology and general Islamic Studies. An educational curriculum consultant and professional translator.
Completed a project entitled ‘Beyond Foundationalism: New Horizons in Muslim Analytic Theology - A three-year research project funded by the John Templeton Foundation in collaboration with the Aziz Foundation and hosted by the Cambridge Muslim College.
Currently executive editor for the Journal of Islamic Philosophy, and instructor at the Ibn Rushd Centre of Excellence for Islamic Research, Whitethread Institute, and Centre for Islamic Knowledge (CIK).edit
In this paper, I explore the paradigmatic case of the problem of evilthat of the problem of suffering. As a result of many Muslims theologians and academics in contemporary times adopting the approach of theodicy as a way to address the... more
In this paper, I explore the paradigmatic case of the problem of evilthat of the problem of suffering. As a result of many Muslims theologians and academics in contemporary times adopting the approach of theodicy as a way to address the problem of suffering, other considerations have been neglected. One consideration put forth in this paper is to explore how the problem of suffering can be shifted away from being preoccupied with theoretical vindications of Allah's justice and fairness in the face of evil to one that focusses more on how the patient, the person suffering, can construct meaning out of the suffering by utilising the theological resources of their creed.
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In this essay, I attempt to explore the account of logic in some of the major philosophical works of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali in an attempt to see if he invested it with any degree of metaphysical significance. Speculating the answer in the... more
In this essay, I attempt to explore the account of logic in some of the major philosophical works of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali in an attempt to see if he invested it with any degree of metaphysical significance. Speculating the answer in the positive, I use the answer as a juncture p+oint to formulate a Ghazali inspired divine conceptualism argument to ground the nature and necessity of logic drawing on the logical insights of Recber, Welty and Anderson. I then conclude with a brief assessment of a Divine Voluntarism model and and a tentative reading of a Divine Activism model in Ibn Taymiyya as explanations for grounding logic.
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The current philosophical literature on God and abstract objects has taken an exhilarating turn in recent years. Although the discussion has remained broadly within the inherited Hellenic trichotomy of realism, nominalism and... more
The current philosophical literature on God and abstract objects has taken an exhilarating turn in recent years. Although the discussion has remained broadly within the inherited Hellenic trichotomy of realism, nominalism and conceptualism, nuanced metaphysical positions have been argued within that trichotomy. The debate assumes particular importance for classical theism in that one of its core doctrines is God as a “self-existent being” (qā’im bi-nafsihi; aseity), i.e. He exists by virtue of Himself. If abstract objects are entities that exist necessarily (as is claimed by its proponents), then that would imply a compromise of that doctrine. Moreover, it also leaves open the question of how they are to be accounted for. This short paper will explore some possible options open for the Islamic theist to account for abstract entities drawing on contemporary debates and ideas to enrich the philosophical positions espoused by Muslim thinkers in the formative and post-formative period.
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This was an my initial undergraduate dissertation but was later changed to John Philoponus's against Aristotle on the eternity of the world. The draft dissertation outlines Alfarabi's solution to the puzzle of divine foreknowledge and... more
This was an my initial undergraduate dissertation but was later changed to John Philoponus's against Aristotle on the eternity of the world.
The draft dissertation outlines Alfarabi's solution to the puzzle of divine foreknowledge and free will which revolves around God's knowledge not being causally determinative of future events.
The draft dissertation outlines Alfarabi's solution to the puzzle of divine foreknowledge and free will which revolves around God's knowledge not being causally determinative of future events.
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Ashʿarī surveys a number of different theological views about God's knowledge of events and human actions and their relation with time as held by some of the early kalām practitioners. Two areas that he surveys include: 1. The... more
Ashʿarī surveys a number of different theological views about God's knowledge of events and human actions and their relation with time as held by some of the early kalām practitioners. Two areas that he surveys include: 1. The disagreement of those who believed God does not know something unless it is; 2. Whether God knowing something without it mixing with Him. Two arguments from the first section are particularly interesting, especially with regard to Omniscience and time. This paper will explore these views and examine them in detail.
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Scheme of Work for the Kalam Module 2024-2025 for the programme Advanced Diploma in Islamic Scholarship and Leadership (ADIL) delivered for the Centre for Islamic Knoweldge (CIK)
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* these class notes are for a draft essay on the doctrine of resurrection in Islamic theology and the problem of personal identity. An updated bibliography (as of 2017) can be found at the end under " Updated Bibliography " .
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A lecture handout surveying the account of the Qur'an's compilation by orientalist scholars (MA Orality and Textuality Course, Birkbeck, 2009).
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A class handout on the account of the 'Codex' of the Ibn Mas'd, the Prophet Muhammad's companion (MA Orality and Textuality Course, Birkbeck, 2009).
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Lecture handout for the MA Program entitled Orality and Textuality Course for Birkbeck College, 2009
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This essay situates speculation on Sufi themes within a posthuman paradigm. Although difficult to define (like any major concept), posthumanism raises some challenges that invite serious inquiry and consideration. This essay will explore... more
This essay situates speculation on Sufi themes within a posthuman paradigm. Although difficult to define (like any major concept), posthumanism raises some challenges that invite serious inquiry and consideration. This essay will explore two definitions or iterations of posthumanism how that may affect the way Sufis understand, assess and reassess the major ideational categories that regulate both their outlook and lived expression of Islam. The first is philosophical posthumanism that interrogates assumptions about human nature, species exceptionalism and identity. The second is posthuman transhumanism and the ever increasing and encroaching dominance of technoscientific modalities that particularly seek to enhance human intellectual, physical and psychological capacities and potentialities. What challenges are generated when some of these posthuman definitions or iterations intersect with Sufi concerns, issues and themes will form the exploration of this essay.
Presentation video: https://youtu.be/uhfKkENmjtA
Presentation video: https://youtu.be/uhfKkENmjtA
Presentation slides on the Paper : Kalām Jadīd from the Indian Context: A Philosophical Examination of Mawlānā Ashraf ʿAlī Thānwī’s (d. 1943) Text al-Intibāhāt al-Mufīda
For details see the handout
For details see the handout
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Slides on the problem of suffering and the Islamic application of the meaning making model
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A presentation delivered at the annual American Society of Islamic Philosophy and Theology (ASIPT), December 2-5 2022, Brandeis and Harvard
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A presentation of a forthcoming article on Isma'il Gelenbevi's theory of argumentation and applications to two modern argumentation theories
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In this presentation I suggest a meaning-making turn within Islamic ethics that moves away from the standard abstract, ahistorical and theoretical proposals of analytic theodicists to the problem of suffering. I utilise the Arabic genre... more
In this presentation I suggest a meaning-making turn within Islamic ethics that moves away from the standard abstract, ahistorical and theoretical proposals of analytic theodicists to the problem of suffering. I utilise the Arabic genre of tasliyat al-musab (consoling the grief-stricken) as my conceptual resource to construct meaning in the midst of personal sufferring using Parks meaning-making model.
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A short presentation on some obstacles to transalting Arabic argumentation and dialectical texts
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The Problem of Evil is one of the most difficult and protracted problems for the Abrahamic adherents who uphold the classical conception of an “omni-competent” God – omniscient, omnipotent and omnibenevolent. In its core formulation, the... more
The Problem of Evil is one of the most difficult and protracted problems for the Abrahamic adherents who uphold the classical conception of an “omni-competent” God – omniscient, omnipotent and omnibenevolent. In its core formulation, the existence and/or character of God is brought into direct contention with the existence of evil. One sub-set of this problem, reinvigorated by recent discussions within the intersection between the philosophy of religion and philosophy of science, is the evolutionary problem of evil. The aim of this article is to analyse this subset of the Problem of Evil hitherto unexplored in any depth within contemporary Islamic ethics. After presenting a few versions of the evolutionary argument from evil in the first section, the article in the second section will survey some possible theodicies based on key philosophers and theologians from the Islamic formative, classical and postclassical periods in order to assess whether they can be adequately pressed into addressing the core challenge posed by the problem. Building on these theodicies, the article in section three moves into a proposal of an Islamic evolutionary theodicy based on the core doctrines of the Qur’ān as well as ideas developed within evolutionary theism. The final section evaluates the overall cogency and plausibility of an Islamic theistic evolution (IET) and ipso facto an Islamic evolutionary theodicy (IET) based on possible theological, philosophical and scientific objections.
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A presentation exploring a glut-theoretic approach to Islamic theology and the implications of that for reconceptualisating God and His relationship to to creation and specifically human beings.
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Medieval Muslim scholars discussed at length the topic of the afterlife fate of believers and nonbelievers. One area of contention was on the duration of Hell and whether it was fair for God to sentence non-believers to endless conscious... more
Medieval Muslim scholars discussed at length the topic of the afterlife fate of believers and nonbelievers. One area of contention was on the duration of Hell and whether it was fair for God to sentence non-believers to endless conscious torment for a finite set of sins. In this paper, I examine the arguments justifying Hell's unending punishment for the act of disbelief (kufr: the cognisant and willful rejection of God in this world) advanced by Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (d. 333/934) - a towering theologian from Central Asia whose teachings and methodology comprise one of the two mainstream sunni scholastic (kalam) schools. I will lay out the core ideas underpinning al-Maturidi's reasoning and then examine that reasoning in detail with the help of later theologians and commentators within his school. I will use both al-Maturidi's theological and exegetical works as my core sources and conclude that although the arguments are generally cogent, there are additional metaphysical details that need to be supplied for the argument to be robust.
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Slides on the Hadith and Evolution Debate
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See handout
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A number of seminal works have examined the subject matter of Islamic theodicy - how Muslim thinkers explain the existence of evil in the world. Very few, however, have analyzed these theodicies in relation to animals. Even fewer have... more
A number of seminal works have examined the subject matter of Islamic theodicy - how Muslim thinkers explain the existence of evil in the world. Very few, however, have analyzed these theodicies in relation to animals. Even fewer have attempted to explore theodicies within an evolutionary framework. Predation, pestilence and extinction are some of the means by which countless animals have suffered and thus constitute fresh challenges to the traditional concept of God’s justice. Given these challenges, I will in this paper tentatively propose an Islamic evolutionary theodicy (IET). This will involve firstly defining in general what theistic evolution is followed by what I take to be an Islamic theistic evolution (ITE). Secondly, it will involve outlining what an evolutionary theodicy is from the historical and current scientific, theological and philosophical literature and how that informs the core doctrines that constitutes my proposed Islamic evolutionary theodicy concluding with some possible objections.
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Early Muslim Scholars as well as Western Scholars are in some agreement on the highly provocative nature of the Qur’ān as a text because it emerged out of a confrontational milieu. This context then inevitably shaped features of its... more
Early Muslim Scholars as well as Western Scholars are in some agreement on the highly provocative nature of the Qur’ān as a text because it emerged out of a confrontational milieu. This context then inevitably shaped features of its discourse as it unveiled over approximately 23 years to the immediate Arab audience for specific occasions. One defining feature of the Qur’ānic discourse is its arguments, i.e. it is a notably polemical scripture. In many places, the Qur’ān not only cites bad arguments (what are called “fallacies” [mughālatāt]) but appears to recount apologetic arguments from the mouths of God’s interlocutors: the divinely appointed Prophets and Messengers. Although the Qur’ān is clearly not a textbook of philosophy nor a manual of logic, nevertheless by the 4th / 10th century, it had been conceived by some as exemplifying modes of reasoning that can be schematized into logical forms outlined by Aristotle and the Stoics. This paper will explore further this conception of the Qur’ān in three parts: part one will first outline what can be called a Qur’ānic vocabulary for arguments that clearly highlight an embedded dialectical nature. In part two, two texts will be briefly examined that specifically claim the Qur’ān exhibits logical arguments: the first is al-Ghazālī’s al-qistās al-mustaqīm and the second is al-Tūfī’s larger work using Qur’ānic pericopes called ʿAlam al-jadhal fī ‘ilm al-jadal. Both texts are highly interesting works on medieval reconceptualisations of the Qur’ān. Theological implications of such claims will also be unpacked with regard to logic and its relation to the Divine mind. Part three will be a broad analysis of some fallacies mentioned in the Qur’ān along with their counter-arguments.
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A number of studies in the Anglo-American literature in Islamic studies have been published on the vindication of divine justice and providence in view of the existence of evil. Ormsby, Heemskerk and Jackson for example have written... more
A number of studies in the Anglo-American literature in Islamic studies have been published on the vindication of divine justice and providence in view of the existence of evil. Ormsby, Heemskerk and Jackson for example have written seminal works on how Ashʿarite, Muʿtazilite and Māturīdite thinkers have presented arguments for why Allah permits evil, pain and suffering in the world and how these realities are compatible with the Qur’ānic depiction of a personal and loving Creator. However, studies have yet to be conducted on how such theodicies fair when it comes to non-human animals. In this article, I will examine these theodicies and then assess whether they have explanatory power for why non-human animals experience pain and suffering. I will first frame the problem of evil, pain and suffering with regards to non-human animals as a sub-species of the general theistic “problem of evil” argument. Then, I will generally survey Māturīdite accounts on the nature and reality of evil and suffering with comparisons on competing theological accounts from the Muʿtazilites and Ashʿarites. I will then present classical views on the ontology and status of animals from the Qur’ān and ḥadīth corpus with focus on the application of Māturīdite metaphysical tenets to evaluate whether or not these are satisfactory. Although I conclude that the Māturīdite positions are theologically and philosophically tenable, nevertheless they may not be satisfactory for a contemporary audience that have embraced a shift in a more ethically “thicker” attitude towards animals as proto-moral and conscious beings.
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My translation of the short publication entitled 'Spiritual Unveiling and Inspiration between the People of the Sunna and the Ṣūfīs' by Sharif Taha on the notion of kashf (unveiling) in Sufism that explores its validity and conditions. My... more
My translation of the short publication entitled 'Spiritual Unveiling and Inspiration between the People of the Sunna and the Ṣūfīs' by Sharif Taha on the notion of kashf (unveiling) in Sufism that explores its validity and conditions. My introduction of the translation contains a discussion of what I call ordinary ways of knowing (OWK) and extraordinary ways of knowing (EWK) and offer reasons why kashf epistemology may be justified by Sufis.
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This is a translation of a short biography of Yūsuf b. Ismāʿīl al-Nabhānī (d. 1932) and his grandson Taqī al-Dīn al-Nabhānī (d. 1977) by the highly respected Egyptian scholar of law (fiqh) and specialist in Ḥadīth Saʿīd Maḥmūd Mamdūḥ from... more
This is a translation of a short biography of Yūsuf b. Ismāʿīl al-Nabhānī (d. 1932) and his grandson Taqī al-Dīn al-Nabhānī (d. 1977) by the highly respected Egyptian scholar of law (fiqh) and specialist in Ḥadīth Saʿīd Maḥmūd Mamdūḥ from his biographical encyclopedia Tashnīf al-Asmāʿ bi-Shuyūkh al-Ijāza wa-l-Samāʿ or Imtāʿ Ulī al-Naẓar bi-Baʿd Aʿyān al-Qarn al-Rābiʿ ʿAshr.
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A section on the difference between philosophy (falsafa) and kalam (theology) from Saʿīd Fūdah's Mawqif Ibn Rushd al-Falsafi min ʿIlm al-kalam
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This is the section on the discipline of Kalam by Sa'id Fudah from his encylopedic commentary on the creed of Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi (d. 321/933) entitled al-Sharh al-Kabir (The Great Commentary)
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A Chapter by Sa'id Fudah on the subject of 'Ilm al-Kalam (rational theology) from his book Tad'im al-Mantiq
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This is a translation of Said Fudah's analysis in his book Tad'im al-Mantiq of the stern fatwa (legal edict) issued by the Kurdish Shafi'i hadith specilist Ibn al-Salah al-Shahrazuri (d. 643/1245) against the study of logic (mantiq).
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This is a translation of the section on the "fitra" (innate disposition) by Sa'id Fudah from his extensive commentary of the creed of Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi (d. 321/933) entitled al-Sharh al-Kabir. He argues for the fitra as state of... more
This is a translation of the section on the "fitra" (innate disposition) by Sa'id Fudah from his extensive commentary of the creed of Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi (d. 321/933) entitled al-Sharh al-Kabir. He argues for the fitra as state of receptiveness, a foundational predisosition that enables humans to recognise the truth of Islam.
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Faḍl al-Rasūl al-Badāyūnī (d. 1289 AH) 'On Reason's Determination of Good and Bad' (al-taḥsīn wa-l-taqbīḥ) from his creedal manual 'The Examined Creed' (al-Muʿtaqad al-Muntaqad).
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This is Abu Hazim's refutation of chapter 6 of Armin Navabi's book 'Why There is no God' defending the efficacy of personal prayers
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This is a translation of chapter one from the short text by the contemporary konya-based scholar Salih al-Ghursi that argues for the necessity of knowing Arabic rhetoric to correctly understand the theological discussions around the... more
This is a translation of chapter one from the short text by the contemporary konya-based scholar Salih al-Ghursi that argues for the necessity of knowing Arabic rhetoric to correctly understand the theological discussions around the divine attributes (sifat) and theology in general.
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This is a translation of the metaethics section from the Sunni refutation 'The Trial of the Atheist Nabavi' written by Muhammad Abu Hazin addressing objections raised in the book 'Why There is no God' (2014) written by the Iranian... more
This is a translation of the metaethics section from the Sunni refutation 'The Trial of the Atheist Nabavi' written by Muhammad Abu Hazin addressing objections raised in the book 'Why There is no God' (2014) written by the Iranian ex-Muslim and founder of Atheist Republic Armin Nabavi.
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Like their Jewish and Christian co-religionists, Muslims have grappled with how God, who is perfectly good, compassionate, merciful, powerful, and wise permits intense and profuse evil and suffering in the world. At its core, The Problem... more
Like their Jewish and Christian co-religionists, Muslims have grappled with how God, who is perfectly good, compassionate, merciful, powerful, and wise permits intense and profuse evil and suffering in the world. At its core, The Problem of Evil in Islamic Theology explores four different problems of evil: human disability, animal suffering, evolutionary natural selection, and Hell. Each study argues in favor of a particular kind of explanation or justification (theodicy) for the respective evil. Safaruk Chowdhury unpacks the notion of evil and its conceptualization within the mainstream Sunni theological tradition, and the various ways in which theologians and philosophers within that tradition have advanced different types of theodicies. He not only builds on previous works on the topic, but also looks at kinds of theodicies previously unexplored within Islamic theology, such as an evolutionary theodicy. Distinguished by its application of an analytic-theology approach to the subject and drawing on insights from works of both medieval Muslim theologians and philosophers and contemporary philosophers of religion, this novel and highly systematic study will appeal to students and scholars, not only of theology but of philosophy as well.
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Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn al-Sulamī (d. 412/1021 AH/CE) was born and raised in Nīshāpūr, one of the most renowned cities in the Islamic world. He was part of a line of earlier Ṣūfī figures who attempted to defend the... more
Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn al-Sulamī (d. 412/1021 AH/CE) was born and raised in Nīshāpūr, one of the most renowned cities in the Islamic world. He was part of a line of earlier Ṣūfī figures who attempted to defend the cardinal tenets of Sufism from accusations of heresy. However, al-Sulamī surpassed his predecessors by amassing a corpus of antecedent mystical dicta from the architects of Islamic mysticism and substantiating them with transmission channels (isnāds) or grounding them in a core teaching of the Prophet Muḥammad. This study demonstrates that al-Sulamī was an accomplished mystic. It outlines his life and times, and surveys in full all his works as far as they can be identified. Moreover, the important sources that shaped the development and impression of his thinking and modality of transforming the ego-self (nafs) are presented in detail, bringing together earlier and current academic scholarship on this important figure of the third and fourth centuries of...
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Like their Jewish and Christian co-religionists, Muslims have grappled with how God, who is perfectly good, compassionate, merciful, powerful, and wise permits intense and profuse evil and suffering in the world. At its core, The Problem... more
Like their Jewish and Christian co-religionists, Muslims have grappled with how God, who is perfectly good, compassionate, merciful, powerful, and wise permits intense and profuse evil and suffering in the world. At its core, The Problem of Evil in Islamic Theology explores four different problems of evil: human disability, animal suffering, evolutionary natural selection, and Hell. Each study argues in favor of a particular kind of explanation or justification (theodicy) for the respective evil. Safaruk Chowdhury unpacks the notion of evil and its conceptualization within the mainstream Sunni theological tradition, and the various ways in which theologians and philosophers within that tradition have advanced different types of theodicies. He not only builds on previous works on the topic, but also looks at kinds of theodicies previously unexplored within Islamic theology, such as an evolutionary theodicy.
Distinguished by its application of an analytic-theology approach to the subject and drawing on insights from works of both medieval Muslim theologians and philosophers and contemporary philosophers of religion, this novel and highly systematic study will appeal to students and scholars, not only of theology but of philosophy as well.
Distinguished by its application of an analytic-theology approach to the subject and drawing on insights from works of both medieval Muslim theologians and philosophers and contemporary philosophers of religion, this novel and highly systematic study will appeal to students and scholars, not only of theology but of philosophy as well.
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Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn al-Sulamī (d.412/1021) lived in the 3rd and 4th century ah (9th and 10th century ce). He was born in the city of Nīshāpūr, one of the most renowned cities in the Islamic world. He was part of a... more
Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn al-Sulamī (d.412/1021) lived in the 3rd and 4th century ah (9th and 10th century ce). He was born in the city of Nīshāpūr, one of the most renowned cities in the Islamic world. He was part of a line of earlier Ṣūfī figures who attempted to defend the cardinal tenets of Sufism from accusations of heresy. However, al-Sulamī surpassed his predecessors by amassing a corpus of antecedent mystical dicta from the architects of Islamic mysticism and substantiating them with transmission channels (isnad) or grounding them in a core teaching of the Prophet Muḥammad. This study demonstrates that al-Sulamī was an accomplished mystic. It outlines his life and times, and surveys in full all his works as far as they can be identified. Moreover, the important sources that shaped the development and impression of his thinking and modality of transforming the ego-self (nafs) are presented in detail, bringing together earlier and current academic scholarship on him.
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MA dissertation submitted in 2006 examining the underlying logical structure of Qur'anic arguments as part of its overall discourse as well as their impact on the reader.
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This article is the first logical exploration of a major Islamic theological controversy regarding divine omnipotence (qudra) emerging in early 19 th century northern India and persists today. The controversy involved two interconnected... more
This article is the first logical exploration of a major Islamic theological controversy regarding divine omnipotence (qudra) emerging in early 19 th century northern India and persists today. The controversy involved two interconnected propositions. The first is known as 'imkān-e naẓīr', which is the proposition that God is able to create another identical Prophet Muḥammad. The second dubbed 'ikmān-e kidhb', is the possibility of God being able to lie or say untruths. The article will examine the arguments of two formidable scholars. The first is the one who detonated the controversy Shah Ismail Dihlawi (d. 1831) who argues for the possibility of God to actualise an identical Muḥammad and to lie and the second is his opponent and archnemesis Fazl-e Haqq Khayrabadi (d. 1861), who vehemently rejects both possibilities. The focus of the article is a detailed logical analysis of the structure and premises of the arguments as well as the core modal concepts assumed in the debate.
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Ismāʿīl b. Muṣṭafā b. Maḥmūd Gelenbevī (Ar. al-Kalanbawī) was one of the foremost logicians, mathematicians and Ḥanafī-Māturīdi theologians of the late Ottoman period. Living at the intersection of the ‘old’ and ‘new’ or Ottoman... more
Ismāʿīl b. Muṣṭafā b. Maḥmūd Gelenbevī (Ar. al-Kalanbawī) was one of the foremost logicians, mathematicians and Ḥanafī-Māturīdi theologians of the late Ottoman period. Living at the intersection of the ‘old’ and ‘new’ or Ottoman trajectory of reform, Gelenbevī rose to prominence within the educational ranks and was appointed professor in the Imperial naval College in Istanbul. Regrettably, like other Ottoman scholars and intellectuals, very little is known about his life and works within European languages, although this serious oversight is now being addressed due to – amongs other reasons - the interest in his theological and logical works. This paper attempts to contribute to this growing interest in Gelenbevī by examining his theory of argumentation as it is presented in his short treatise Risāla fī ādāb al-baḥth wa-l-munāẓaraī, written for students in mind. Taking continuity and discontinuity as a historical theme, I will first situate the Risāla in the context of the jadal and munāẓara genre. This will be followed by a structural and topical analysis of the Risāla and its primary interrelation with logic utilising the commentary literature. I will conclude the paper with the significance of the text as well as a translation of the entire Risāla.
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The problem of evil is one of the most difficult and protracted problems for the trio of Abrahamic faiths that uphold the classical conception of an “omni-competent God”—omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent. In its standard... more
The problem of evil is one of the most difficult and protracted problems for the trio of Abrahamic faiths that uphold the classical conception of an “omni-competent God”—omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent. In its standard formulation in the literature, the existence or character of God is brought into direct contention with the existence of evil. One subset of this problem, reinvigorated by recent discussions within the intersection between the philosophy of religion and philosophy of science, is the evolutionary problem of evil or the “Darwinian problem of evil.” This article analyzes this subset of the evolutionary problem of evil hitherto unexplored in any depth within contemporary Islamic theology and proposes some possible evolutionary theodicies that Muslim theists can utilize based on core doctrines and other precepts of the Qur’ān as well as ideas developed within contemporary evolutionary theism and environmental ethics. In this way, the article offers a contribution to the currently small but growing body of theodicy literature within contemporary Islamic ethics and environmentalism.
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The problem of evil is one of the most difficult and protracted problems for the trio of Abrahamic faiths that uphold the classical conception of an “omni-competent God”—omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent. In its standard... more
The problem of evil is one of the most difficult and protracted problems for the trio of Abrahamic faiths that uphold the classical conception of an “omni-competent God”—omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent. In its standard formulation in the literature, the existence or character of God is brought into direct contention with the existence of evil. One subset of this problem, reinvigorated by recent discussions within the intersection between the philosophy of religion and philosophy of science, is the evolutionary problem of evil or the “Darwinian problem of evil.” This article analyzes this subset of the evolutionary problem of evil hitherto unexplored in any depth within contemporary Islamic theology and proposes some possible evolutionary theodicies that Muslim theists can utilize based on core doctrines and other precepts of the Qur’ān as well as ideas developed within contemporary evolutionary theism and environmental ethics. In this way, the article offers a contribution to the currently small but growing body of theodicy literature within contemporary Islamic ethics and environmentalism.
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In this essay, I explore the response of the Ashʿarite theologian Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1210) to what can be called ‘the problem of the efficacy of petitionary prayers’ (henceforth PEPP), namely the effectiveness of making... more
In this essay, I explore the response of the Ashʿarite theologian Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1210) to what can be called ‘the problem of the efficacy of petitionary prayers’ (henceforth PEPP), namely the effectiveness of making supplications to God that involve a request for something. The key text under examination in which al-Rāzī states the core objections to the efficacy of petitionary prayers and then addresses head-on is his highly dense philosophical work al-Maṭālib al-ʿĀliyya min al-ʿIlm al-Ilāhī. In order to do this, I set out the essay as follows: Section One will include a short historiography of some English books on the topic of supplications (duʿā’) and petitionary prayers where I situate the relevance of al-Rāzī’s response within the apparent paucity of works addressing the topic. In Section Two, I outline some preliminaries that are necessary and relevant for understanding the discussion that will follow in the remaining sections. In Section Three I survey al-Rāzī’s view on personal prayers. In Section Four, I examine in detail al-Rāzī’s formulations of the arguments that constitute PEPP from the Maṭālib with parallel discussions in his huge exegetical work Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb. Following this, in Section Five, I lay out in depth al-Rāzī’s responses to PEPP from the Mafātīḥ but will draw on theological machinery from his other works to help support his arguments in the Maṭālib. Finally, in the conclusion, I evaluate al-Rāzī’s responses and the wider implications they have on a Muslim theist’s relation to and understanding of God.
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In this article, I examine the deep theological faultline generated by divergent understandings of the divine attributes (ṣifāt) among two early antagonistic Muslim groups-the traditionalists (mainly Ḥanbalites) and the scholastic... more
In this article, I examine the deep theological faultline generated by divergent understandings of the divine attributes (ṣifāt) among two early antagonistic Muslim groups-the traditionalists (mainly Ḥanbalites) and the scholastic rationalists (mutakallimūn). I attempt to defend the traditionalist stance of literally accepting on the one hand physical qualities and actions described about God and on the other transcendent descriptions about Him by framing it as an exceptional contradiction to be embraced. I then argue using the paraconsistent logical system of First Degree Entailment (FDE) as expounded by philosopher and logician Jc Beall that accepting such a contradiction regarding any number of predicates about God have no logical impediments. Hence, the traditionalist stance (at least) cannot be accused of being incoherent. I will use as a case-study the discussion over the divine attribute of speech (kalām). Finally, I respond to some criticisms against such a proposal and offer some concluding remarks on the wider implications this proposal of a contradictory or glut-theoretic model would have on Muslim theology in general.
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/R28VW2PMKR9RNAXFYTRH/full?target=10.1080/01445340.2020.1797449
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/R28VW2PMKR9RNAXFYTRH/full?target=10.1080/01445340.2020.1797449
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Since the publication in 2009 of Jean-Jacques Thibon’s landmark study of the oeuvre of Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī (d. 412/1021), some two dozen previously unpublished works by the latter have appeared in print. In his new monograph,... more
Since the publication in 2009 of Jean-Jacques Thibon’s landmark study of the oeuvre of Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī (d. 412/1021), some two dozen previously unpublished works by the latter have appeared in print. In his new monograph, S.Z. Choudhury rightly suggests that this situation occasions a renewed effort to produce, “a comprehensive analysis and synthesis of Sulamī’s methodology, approach [and] technique of Sufism” (p. 17). Although Chowdhury does not provide a definitive account of Sulamī’s authorial project, his efforts to re-survey the scope of the Sulamian corpus highlight some of the barriers that must yet be overcome in order to do so.
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Safaruk Chowdhury’s study on the problem of evil is at home in a growing body of constructive theological literature composed by Muslim scholars who actively engage the dual resources of classical Islamic theology and philosophy on the... more
Safaruk Chowdhury’s study on the problem of evil is at home in a growing body of constructive theological literature composed by Muslim scholars who actively engage the dual resources of classical Islamic theology and philosophy on the one hand, and contemporary analytic philosophy in the Western tradition on the other. This work is remarkable for the ecumenical spirit in which it is carried out, the rich range of sources which it brings to its readers, and its underlying pastoral sensitivity. It is, in consequence of these characteristics, somewhat tentative in its conclusions, and the reader is advised against the expectation of a definitive ‘Islamic solution’ to the problem of evil. Thankfully, the author does not suggest that such a clear-cut answer exists, and by the end of the study, one appreciates the motivations behind this restraint.
The work’s introduction makes plain its real-world connections; the 2017 Grenfell tragedy and 2019 Christchurch bombings are chosen to exemplify the omnipresent suffering in our world (though interestingly, accounting for suffering produced by human actors is not a focus of the subsequent study). Chowdhury writes of the book as ‘an attempt to argue that the existence of evil is at least logically compatible with God as revealed in the Muslim sacred scripture of the Qur’an’ (p. 2). He describes his method as ‘that of analytic theology, where the tools of conceptual precision, argumentative rigor, logical coherence and systematic reasoning … define the style and communication of the content’ (p. 3). It is the reviewer’s opinion that the author’s achievement is better captured in a comment made in between these two assertions. Chowdhury draws a distinction between the problem of evil ‘as a serious theoretical (intellectual) problem [… with] an experiential (existential) component that has layers of complexity’, and the problem of evil as a ‘discursive engagement with theological and philosophical concepts that involve solving a logical problem’ (p. 2). Here he identifies his study with the former, and it is clear that the author’s sensitivity to the experiential reality of evil makes this study both far more, and also something distinct from, the formulation of an argument for the logical compatibility of evil and Islamic belief. Within the conclusion, the project’s true contribution is plainly expressed: Chowdhury reflects that he has brought forth a wide range of possible solutions to various aspects of the problem of evil. These he has engaged using the tools of analytic philosophy, assessing and often critiquing them. His approach to these resources has encompassed straightforward exposition and systematic reformulation. At times, he has ventured his own novel solutions. The study should thus be understood to establish the general strength (in number and in force) of possible Islamic responses to the problem of evil, rather than to state a generalizing logical argument for the compatibility of the existence of evil and Islamic belief.
The work’s introduction makes plain its real-world connections; the 2017 Grenfell tragedy and 2019 Christchurch bombings are chosen to exemplify the omnipresent suffering in our world (though interestingly, accounting for suffering produced by human actors is not a focus of the subsequent study). Chowdhury writes of the book as ‘an attempt to argue that the existence of evil is at least logically compatible with God as revealed in the Muslim sacred scripture of the Qur’an’ (p. 2). He describes his method as ‘that of analytic theology, where the tools of conceptual precision, argumentative rigor, logical coherence and systematic reasoning … define the style and communication of the content’ (p. 3). It is the reviewer’s opinion that the author’s achievement is better captured in a comment made in between these two assertions. Chowdhury draws a distinction between the problem of evil ‘as a serious theoretical (intellectual) problem [… with] an experiential (existential) component that has layers of complexity’, and the problem of evil as a ‘discursive engagement with theological and philosophical concepts that involve solving a logical problem’ (p. 2). Here he identifies his study with the former, and it is clear that the author’s sensitivity to the experiential reality of evil makes this study both far more, and also something distinct from, the formulation of an argument for the logical compatibility of evil and Islamic belief. Within the conclusion, the project’s true contribution is plainly expressed: Chowdhury reflects that he has brought forth a wide range of possible solutions to various aspects of the problem of evil. These he has engaged using the tools of analytic philosophy, assessing and often critiquing them. His approach to these resources has encompassed straightforward exposition and systematic reformulation. At times, he has ventured his own novel solutions. The study should thus be understood to establish the general strength (in number and in force) of possible Islamic responses to the problem of evil, rather than to state a generalizing logical argument for the compatibility of the existence of evil and Islamic belief.
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There now exist three major monographs on the Ṣūfī master Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī ( d. 412/1021), all of which are revised versions of doctoral dissertations: one in German, one in French, and, most recently, S.Z. Chowdhury’s study... more
There now exist three major monographs on the Ṣūfī master Abū ʿAbd
al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī ( d. 412/1021), all of which are revised versions of doctoral dissertations: one in German, one in French, and, most recently,
S.Z. Chowdhury’s study in English, the volume under review. All three essentially provide “the life and times of al-Sulamī” (though Chowdhury’s subtitle favors “Life and Thought”) and each purports to offer a one-volume systematic introduction to this medieval master. An assessment of the most recent publication thus must involve a comparison with these prior offerings in order to identify the author’s distinctive contribution.
al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī ( d. 412/1021), all of which are revised versions of doctoral dissertations: one in German, one in French, and, most recently,
S.Z. Chowdhury’s study in English, the volume under review. All three essentially provide “the life and times of al-Sulamī” (though Chowdhury’s subtitle favors “Life and Thought”) and each purports to offer a one-volume systematic introduction to this medieval master. An assessment of the most recent publication thus must involve a comparison with these prior offerings in order to identify the author’s distinctive contribution.
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In this learned monograph we meet one of a select category of Muslim scholars whose writings not only presented the science of Sufism to spiritual seekers but also represented it to others in such a manner as to defend the practitioners... more
In this learned monograph we meet one of a select category of Muslim scholars whose writings not only presented the science of Sufism to spiritual seekers but also represented it to others in such a manner as to defend the practitioners of the Path against the accusations of deviation, or even of heresy, often levelled against them. Al-Sulami (325–412/937–1021), a major figure in the development and exposition of Sufi teachings, hailed from Nishapur in Khurasan, northeastern Iran. That ancient city, the region’s metropolis and a hub of trade and learning, flourished anew during the 3rd/9th and 4th/10th centuries under the Tahirid (205–278/821–891) and Samanid dynasties, which maintained de facto independence from the caliphate in Baghdad. S.Z. Chowdhury’s illuminating study is the first to investigate in depth his subject’s important role in the development and exposition of the science of Tasawwuf. In particular, it demonstrates how al-Sulami furthered the work of his apologist predecessors by means which included compiling a corpus of sayings of the early Sufis and finding isnads, or chains of transmission, for them.
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handout for the BRAIS 2024 conference, University of Leeds, ENgland Uk on a systematic summary of the book The Islamic Islamic Secular (OUP 2024) by Sherman Jackson
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Handout for the topic of maqasid al-sharia (aims of Islamic law) and the method of maqasid-based legal reasoning (al-ijtihad al-maqasidi) for the recorded episode on Islamic Oasis episode
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A handout for the Blogging Theology episode on paradoxes and divine attributes
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A handout outlining the problem of petitionary prayer in philosophy of religion for the Blogging Theology Episode on Fakhr al-Din al-Razi and Petitionary Prayer (May 2023)
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This is a handout surveying realist (platonist) and antirealist (nominalist) views on God and abstract objects for a Muslim to explore and consider. It contains possible perspectives from within Islamic theology and philosophy as well
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Handout as resopndent to Prof. Dean Zimmerman's lecture on Omnipresence on Debates in Contemporary Kalam GÜNCEL KELAM: DİN-FELSEFE-BİLİM ÜZERİNE KONUŞMALAR
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A fundamental doctrine of Islamic belief is the general resurrection of all humankind. Conventionally, within the genre of Muslim dialectical theology (kalām), theologians and philosophers discussed the resurrection often in the final... more
A fundamental doctrine of Islamic belief is the general resurrection of all humankind. Conventionally, within the genre of Muslim dialectical theology (kalām), theologians and philosophers discussed the resurrection often in the final sections and chapters of their larger works and so the treatment is comparatively less than the prior epistemological, metaphysical and ethical discussions. Although Muslim scholars did not discuss personal identity as a separate topic, a cognate concern about identity was bodily continuity, namely whether it was necessary that a person be raised with the same body for resurrection to be valid. In this paper, I chart the various ways Islamic thinkers up to the 7th/14th century discussed models of bodily identity in connection with the resurrection, as well as the key arguments and counter-arguments they raise and address in their characteristically dialectical style. The paper will cover the following: 1) a brief account of the Islamic doctrine of resurrection and its overall rationality based on the Qur’ān’s own arguments, 2) how metaphysical discussions of continuity entered into the Islamic doctrine of bodily resurrection, 3) models of bodily continuity proposed by medieval Muslim thinkers, and 4) my tentative proposal of animalism as a model for explaining the necessity of resurrection, assessing its strengths and weaknesses relative to the doctrine of dualism advanced by al-Ghazālī and al-Rāzī.
This lecture will introduce the evolution debate within the context of Islam’s other foundational source, hadith. First, some theoretical parameters will be discussed including how science and religion interact and relate. Second, some... more
This lecture will introduce the evolution debate within the context of Islam’s other foundational source, hadith. First, some theoretical parameters will be discussed including how science and religion interact and relate. Second, some important hermeneutical considerations will be outlined that are either overlooked or understated in this debate. Thirdly, arguments for the compatibility of evolution and Islam based on evidence from hadith texts will be explored followed by counterarguments to that. Finally, some concluding remarks will be given on the issue that relate to theological matters beyond the evolution controversy.
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The Western-European colonial project under modernity to the Muslims lands brought intellectual challenges to cornerstone doctrines of the Islamic worldview (ʿaqīda). These challenges ranged from hermeneutical to the philosophical and... more
The Western-European colonial project under modernity to the Muslims lands brought intellectual challenges to cornerstone doctrines of the Islamic worldview (ʿaqīda). These challenges ranged from hermeneutical to the philosophical and scientific. Muslim scholars in particular engaged with modernity primarily as a threat to Muslim confidence in the Islamic ʿaqīda as a coherent and cogent account of human beings, life and the universe. One way of ensuring a defence of this ʿaqīda was using the rationalist dialectical method of theology known as ‘kalām’. The application of kalām as an apologetic tool addressing newly emerging threats from colonial modernity that began in the latter half of the 19th century and carried into the first half of 20th century is often referred to as “novo kalām” (kalām jadīd). One eminent figure from north India and major spiritual and scholarly representative of renown religious seminary Dār al-Ulūm Deoband Mawlānā Ashraf ʿAlī Thanwī (d. 1943) undertook a project of kalām jadīd to neutralise newly emergent doubts about Islamic doctrines and beliefs. This paper will examine Mawlāna Thanwī’s small text al-Intibāhāt al-Mufīda ʿan al-Ishtibāhāt al-Jadīda as an exemplar of this apologetic enterprise underpinning kalām jadīd. The outline of the paper is as follows: a contextualisation of the text al-Intibāhāt, a summary of its aim and structure, the cluster of modernist contentions it addresses and the theological, metaphysical and epistemological principles it presupposes to respond to these contentions. Finally, the paper will conclude with reflections on Mawlāna Thanwī’s method and approach in al-Intibāhāt and evaluate its overall cogency as a project of kalām jadīd.
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Slides for the Blogging Theology video presentation on platonism (realism) and non-platonism (ant-realism) and the problem of God and abstract objects
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slides for the Blogging Theology Episode on god and paradoxes of divine attributes in Islamic theology
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Presentation Slides on the problem of petitionary prayer according to Fakhr al-Din al-Razi
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Presentation slides for the talk on Bodily Resurrection and personal identity in Islamic Theology