a.
Where are we? (in the
greater picture of studies of religion)
i.
Basic and general knowledge
about any religion as a distinctive
phenomenon = Philosophy of Religion
ii.
Content of Religion =
Theology, Religious Jurisprudence and spiritual preaching
iii.
Functions of religion =
sociology, psychology, anthropology and mythology of religion
iv.
Nature of religion and
religiosity = phenomenology of religion
v.
Comparative studies and
history of religions
1. Kalam or Islamic Theology
a.
Meaning, subject, Methods
and Goals
i.
Old definition
1.
Farabi: the ability to
defend the right and falsify the wrong religious claims by speech and words
2.
Iji: the capability of
demonstrating the right religious beliefs and refute wrong ones
3.
Taftazani: the knowledge of
religious belief based on certain evidences
4.
Ibn Khaldun: to demonstrate
religious beliefs based on rational arguments and refute the heretics
5.
Lahiji: a theoretical skill
that enables one to prove religious beliefs
b.
Main themes:
i.
Of Old Theology: existence
of God, Divine attributes, God’s actions, Divine providence, freewill and
predestination, problem of evil, prophetlogoy, angiology, eschatology
ii.
Modern Theology: definition
of religion, expectations from religion, origin of religion, language of
religion, religious pluralism, reason and religion, science and religion,
ethics and religion, secular affairs and religion
a.
Historical Origins,
Developments and Evolution
i.
Motives of early Muslims to
pursue Kalam (internal elements = responsible for the emergence of Kalam as a whole)
1.
Holy text and its meaning
2.
Critical thinking
3.
Spiritual intuition
b.
Foreign influences on
Islamic Kalam (external elements = responsible for the emergence of particular
opinions)
i.
Social, political events
ii.
Relation and fusion with
other traditions and cultures
1.
Greek, Hellenistic
Philosophy
2.
Biblical Tradition
3.
Persian, Indian traces
a.
Sources of Kalam
i.
Qur’an
1.
The beliefs
2.
The methods of
demonstration
3.
As an inspiration for new
opinions
ii.
Hadith
1.
Explanation and
interpretation of Qur’an
2.
Arguments narrated in
Hadith
3.
Even the supplications and
prayers
4.
Some beliefs are uniquely
from Hadith, like Raj’a
b.
Mixed reactions to Kalam; Opposition
to Kalam and its origins
i.
It is the source of conflict
and disunity, but Qur’an invites to unity
ii.
Kalam is a bid’a or
innovation in Religion
iii.
Similitude to foreign
sciences like greek philosophy (specially that mostly Iranians -nonArabs- would engage in
Kalam discussions)
1.
Kalam practitioners wrote
books against atheist and Indian pagans and gained some popularity
iv.
Rational demonstrations
were regarded as something against authority of revelation by some
v.
Rational arguments would be
seen as downgrading the level of faith and certainty
vi.
If religion is perfected by
the Prophet s, why do we need to talk about it anymore?
vii.
Arabs were not familiar
with rational discourse
viii.
Kalam is not bad in itself,
but it is not recommended for general untrained minds. It’s like a medicine,
sometimes for certain people
ix.
Doing Kalam is basically
enjoying the ambiguous teachings and forgetting the solid teachings
x.
The literal connotation of
some Qur’anic verses and Hadith that object to involvement in discussions and
arguments
Webpage Links:
M. Mutahhari on KalamKalam or Islamic Theology - Dar al-Ifta al-Missriyya
Kalam in MuslimPhilosophy
No comments:
Post a Comment