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Health effect on Human’s moral identity from Avicenna’s point of view (with focusing on exercise, nutrition, and sleep)
By Aysooda hashempour & Forough alsadat Rahimpoor, University of Isfahan
Moral identity refers to those characteristics and attributes playing an important role in the formation of an individual’s identity. Indeed, the role performed by moral attributes in the evolution of a person’s identity is such that quite a few of today’s scholars maintain oneness of “self/psyche” and “moral character”. Adopting this approach, the researchers have set out to produce a wide range of research works in the field of moral philosophy. The present study is an attempt to measure the effect of three components of ‘exercise’, ‘nutrition’, and ‘sleep’ on shaping moral character from Avicenna’s viewpoints. The findings of the present research illuminate the fact that the latter three elements have direct influence on individual’s temperament whereby suitable grounds are created in which moral character develops. Avicenna holds that this statement may not challenge man’s will and authority. The reason is that every individual-by identifying his own physical coordinates and applying most apt instructions- can approximate his temperament to moderation. As a result, the necessary ground for developing most desirable moral character is created.
Link: https://doi.org/10.22091/JPTR.2025.10720.3056
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Tags: #Avicenna #Morality #Philosophy
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The Apocalypse of Peace: Eschatological Pacifism in the Meccan Qur’an
By Javad T. Hashmi, Harvard University
‘Forbear them and say, “Peace!” For soon they will know’, warns Q 43.89, ominously alluding to the imminent eschaton and the final judgement of the wicked. This article argues that the Meccan Qur’an adopts a biblical and Christ-like paradigm of eschatological pacifism, counselling Believers to practise patient endurance (ṣabr) in the face of pagan persecution (fitna), with the assurance that God’s judgement is near at hand. I suggest that the Arabic ṣabara (‘to patiently endure’, root: ṣ-b-r), upon which the Qur’an’s eschatological pacifism is based, is a calque of the New Testament hypomenō, plausibly mediated through the Syriac saybar (root: s-b-r). If correct, this would represent a fascinating ideational trajectory linking Jesus of Nazareth to Muḥammad of Mecca. The Meccan Qur’an’s eschatological pacifism provides a compelling counter-model to the thesis of militant-imperial eschatology recently advanced by Stephen Shoemaker in his 2018 monograph The Apocalypse of Empire: Imperial Eschatology in Late Antiquity and Early Islam, in which he provocatively compares Muḥammad’s movement to ISIS. In contrast, I argue that the Qur’an’s imminent eschatology, located primarily in the Meccan corpus, promotes not world conquest but quietism, manifesting in various pacifistic responses that resemble not ISIS but ʿĪsā.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/09596410.2025.2484082
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Tags: #Islam #Quran #Prophet
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Genre analysis and religious texts: a methodological model of ḥadīth commentary
By Nurullah Ardıç, Istanbul Technical University; Mustafa Macit Karagözoğlu, Marmara University
This article proposes a methodological model of genre analysis to apply to Muslim exegesis on the compilations of Prophetic traditions, known as ḥadīth commentary. Inspired by John Swales’s approach to genre analysis, and drawing upon 23 Sunni ḥadīth commentary texts from the tenth century to the present, the model consists of a number of analytical strategies and research questions, as well as specific generic analyses, in four steps: identifying the main generic features of these commentary texts, including the characteristics of their expository and hortatory discourses; examining their internal structures as constructed by commentators; and applying the move analysis of rhetorical structures twice—to both their introduction and the body of the text. The proposed model offers a way to make ḥadīth commentary texts more accessible and manageable, and helps explore the structural commonalities and differences within the commentary tradition across generations and throughout the Muslim world.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1093/jis/etae068
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Tags: #Islam #Hadith #Exegesis #Quran
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Contemporary Reflections on Substantial Kind Change in Avicenna
By Tuomas E. Tahko, University of Bristo
Contemporary metaphysics, and especially neo-Aristotelian metaphysics, tackles many of the same problems as Avicenna did. One of these problems is the possibility of substantial kind change. For instance, is it possible for an animal to change its species? Aristotle and Avicenna both regarded species to be eternal, but their metaphysics might allow for individuals to change their kinds—what is important is that one kind cannot change into another kind. From a contemporary perspective, this may seem odd, given what we know about the evolution of species. Moreover, phenomena like beta decay seem to suggest that a given sample of an element may change into another element, so one might think that contemporary science allows both changing kinds and substantial kind change. Yet, I suggest that the essentialist metaphysics that has developed from Aristotle to neo-Aristotelian metaphysics, via Avicenna, may already possess the necessary tools to accommodate all this.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/theo.70010
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Tags: #Aristotle #Avicenna #Metaphysics
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Tawaqquf and Adamic Exceptionalism: Silver Bullet or Optical Illusion?
By Stefano Bigliardi, Al Akhawayn University
The article discusses Adamic exceptionalism as explained by Shoaib Ahmed Malik and David Solomon Jalajel. It is argued that the concept of tawaqquf as a foundation of Adamic exceptionalism is defined and exemplified in a way that raises epistemological concerns, and that Adamic exceptionalism is likewise problematic even without reference to tawaqquf.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2025.2472126
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Tags: #Islam #Evolution #Science
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The Qur’an and Communal Memory: Q. 85 and the Martyrs of Najrān
By Walid A. Saleh, University of Toronto
Sura 85 has attracted scholarly attention for the past two centuries due to its supposed reference to the massacre of the Christians of Najrān in 523 ce. Following the massacre, Byzantium and Christian Ethiopia (i.e. the Kingdom of Aksum) took the initiative to reaffirm their hegemony in southern Arabia: an Ethiopian army invaded Yemen and installed a Christian ruler, and the Jewish king of Yemen who was responsible for the persecution of the Christians was deposed and supposedly committed suicide. The earliest layers of the Islamic tradition saw Sura 85 as commentary on this massacre. However, this connection would prove problematic to the later Islamic tradition, and a concerted attempt was made to downplay, if not to obliterate it. Alternative readings were proposed, including that Q. 85 referred to the Biblical story of Daniel 3, specifically to the three youths who survived the fire. Most commentators, though, linked Sura 85 to what is certainly an apocryphal story of an anonymous monotheistic youth who opposed a similarly anonymous polytheistic king and was killed by fire. For its part, the Euro-American tradition has, overall, denied the existence of any historical reference in Sura 85 and claimed that the torture by fire described in this sura is instead a reference to Hell. This article reviews the massive literature on this sura and proposes that the Najran martyrs remain the most plausible referent.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3366/jqs.2024.0596
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Tags: #God #Quran #Exegesis #Arabic
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Qur'an Exegetes and Their Treatment of isṭāʿa and istaṭāʿa in Q. 18: A Critical Analysis
By Mohammad Ali Khalaf Alhroot,
German Jordanian University;
Nabil Muhammad Hisham Abd Alshukur Ihrayyiz, Jordan Academy of Arabic
This article assesses the exegetical opinions related to the two verbs isṭāʿa and istaṭāʿa in Sūrat al-Kahf (Q. 18), offers a critical survey of them, and redraws their semantic limits according to the context in which they occur.
An analysis of the usage of these two verbs in pre-Islamic poetry allows one to determine their meanings prior to the Qur'an, while a critical survey of standard Qur'anic interpretations reveals artificial encrustations added to the sense of the two verbs which do not comply with the linguistic context of their usage within the Qur'anic text. The issue is confused further by some exegetes who linked the two verbs, assuming that istaṭāʿa implied a sense of ‘extended effort’, while the shorter isṭāʿa carried a nuance of ‘limited effort’.
Given the fact that isṭāʿa was not employed in pre-Islamic poetry in the sense offered in the standard exegetical works, this article concludes that the two verbs are used in Q. 18 for specific rhetorical purposes. Moreover, Arabic lexicons – by and large – do not offer a separate entry for the verb isṭāʿa, treating it instead as a variant of istaṭāʿa.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3366/jqs.2024.0598
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Tags: #God #Quran #Exegesis #Arabic
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Exploring Metaphysical Foundations: Avicenna's Insights on Evolution and the Multiverse
By Tahereh Jamali, Shahed University;
Hamid Faghanpour Azizi, Shiraz University; Omid Moazeni, Tehran University
The friction between science and religion often arises from the metaphysical and non-empirical origins of key scientific theories such as the multiverse and evolution. Despite being considered triumphs of modern science, the main ideas of these theories are not solely modern and experimental. In this article, drawing from Avicenna's works, notably Al-Shifa, we uncover that the central concepts and metaphysical underpinnings of these theories have been subjects of debate in philosophy and natural sciences for centuries. By integrating ancient wisdom with modern scientific knowledge, we explore chance and purpose as crucial elements linking science and religion within these theories.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2025.2472127
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Tags: #Avicenna #Multiverse #Evolution
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Life, Reproduction, and the Paradox of Evolution
By Edward Feser, Pasadena City College
A neglected but challenging argument developed by Peter Geach, John Haldane, and Stephen Rothman purports to show that reproduction cannot be explained by natural selection and is irreducibly teleological. Meanwhile, the most plausible definitions of life include reproduction as a constitutive feature. The implication of combining these ideas is that life cannot be explained by natural selection and is irreducibly teleological. This does not entail that life cannot be explained in evolutionary terms of some kind, but it does lend support to the controversial view of Jerry Fodor and Thomas Nagel that evolutionists need to look beyond the constraints of Neo-Darwinism.
Link: https://doi.org/10.2478/biocosmos-2025-0003
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Tags: #Theism #God #Evolution #Teleology
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Blending Pilgrimage and Learning or the Literary Genres of Riḥla and Muʿjam: Al-Tujībī’s Travelogue to Egypt and Ḥijāz
By Muhammet Enes Midilli, Istanbul University
From the early centuries of Muslim history, one of the most popular pilgrimage routes for the Andalusian and Maghribī pilgrims involved traveling through Alexandria to Cairo, then onward to Upper Egypt, followed by a sea journey to Jidda and finally reaching Makka. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, several Maghribī scholars followed this route, combining the pilgrimage journey with scholarly pursuits. Among them, al-Qāsim b. Yūsuf al-Tujībī (d. 730/1329) compiled a travelogue titled Mustafād al-Riḥla wa-l-Ightirāb(The Benefits of Travel and Being Abroad), in which he blended the literary genres of riḥla (travelogue) and muʿjam al-shuyūkh (biographical dictionary of one’s teachers). This article spatializes al-Tujībī’s journey, as depicted in Mustafād al-Riḥla, by employing geographical information systems software to map the locations and routes described in his travelogue. Additionally, the paper examines the structure and style of the travelogue, which blends the riḥla and muʿjam genres, highlighting the combination and hybridization of literary forms. This analysis considers al-Tujībī’s engagement with encyclopedic compilations in Mamluk Cairo and the influence of this intellectual environment on his work. Finally, by highlighting the scholarly network that al-Tujībī established in Egypt and Ḥijāẓ, the paper explores the role of pilgrimage journeys in merging religious duty with scholarly pursuits.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16030344
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Tags: #Islam #Religion #History
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Pleasure, Pain, and Desire: Epistemology and Ontology of Mental States in Kalām
By Fedor Benevich, University of Edinburgh
This article addresses the primary arguments, concepts, and methods associated with the philosophical analysis of mental states in classical kalām. My discussion will be based on the analysis of pleasure and pain, as well as desire and aversion. These two closely related pairs serve as perfect examples of kalām strategies in the philosophy of mind. We will see that scholars of kalām commonly rely on direct, either phenomenal or empirical, observations to identify the reality of mental states. Once the reality of mental states is established, a scholar of kalām typically engages in a discussion of their ontology, enquiring whether there is a certain separate entity (maʿnā) behind the mental phenomenon or the sensible perception in question and whether it gives rise to a non-perceptible state (ḥāl) that belongs to the entire individual. Among the results of this study is a hypothesis that the methods and concepts of kalām philosophy of mind (particularly the Muʿtazilī tradition) influenced post-Avicennan post-classical Islamic philosophy, particularly Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 1210).
Link: https://doi.org/10.1093/jis/etaf011
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Tags: #Islam #Religion #Razi #Avicenna #Kalam
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Avicenna on the Meaning of Logic: Revisiting Five Major Works
By Shahab Khademi, KU Leuven
Avicenna's logic has gathered much interest in recent decades. However, one significant point that has hitherto been frequently neglected is what logic means to Avicenna in the first place. Considering this issue, the main aim of this paper is to investigate Avicenna's account of logic. This is done by focusing on the logical sections of five of his comprehensive works, namely, the Kitāb al-Madkhal (of the Kitāb al-Shifāʾ, the Cure), al-Najāt (the Salvation), Dānishnāmi-yi ʿAlāʾ ī (Philosophy for ʿAlāʾ-ad-Dawla), al-Mashriqiyyūn (the Easterners) and al-Ishārāt wa-t-tanbīhāt (the Pointers and Reminders). The reason for choosing these five works is fourfold, namely, logico-philosophical, linguistic, chronological and diversity of intended audience. Each work is analyzed based on the three fundamental elements which Avicenna links to the notion of logic, i.e. its definition, its status and its goal. The results of this analysis are then compared. Overall, Avicenna seems to have held a very stable account of logic across these works.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/01445340.2024.2444757
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Tags: #Islam #Religion #Avicenna #Logic
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Moral knowledge: theism vs. Naturalism
By Zoheir Bagheri Noaparast, Stellenbosch University
Noah McKay (2023) has proposed a novel argument against naturalism. He argues that while theism can explain our ability to arrive at a body of moral beliefs that are generally accurate and complete’, naturalism fails to do so. He argues that naturalism has only social and biological grounds to account for our moral beliefs, which means that naturalism can only claim pragmatic value for our moral beliefs. McKay dedicates his paper to arguing against naturalism. This paper will focus on theism and examine whether theism can explain what naturalism cannot. Theism could rely on guided evolution or the miraculous intervention of God. In contrast to naturalism, theism has revelatory and supernatural grounds for our moral beliefs. This paper will demonstrate some of the challenges that these grounds would encounter. Finally, McKay’s argument implies a dichotomy between unguided evolution and theism, which rests on a problematic assumption about evolutionary theory; by abandoning the assumption, the dichotomy also dissolves.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11153-025-09950-8
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Tags: #Morality #Theism #Atheism #Naturalism #God #Miracle
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Addressing a Sibling Rivalry: In Seeking Effective Christian–Muslim Relations, to What Extent Can Comparative Theology Contribute? An Evangelical Christian Perspective
By Joy S. Hadden, Belfast School of Theology
There is a long and complex history of Christian–Muslim engagement, one which is fraught by socio-political tensions and complicated by fear. Theological tensions likewise contribute to the sibling rivalry between these Abrahamic faiths. Accounting for fundamental theological differences between Islam and Christianity, and noting a potential dichotomy between apologetic-style and interfaith engagement, this article contends that effective Christian–Muslim relations must navigate both opposing truth claims and efforts to seek peace. Consequently, comparative theology is critically evaluated, from an evangelical Christian perspective, as a potential mediating approach. In considering the complex relationship between comparative theology and theology of religion, and indeed, between theology and ‘people of faith’, recommendations are formulated with a view to contributing to effective Christian–Muslim relations. The overall aim of this research therefore is to explore approaches to developing more effective Christian–Muslim relations, with a specific focus on comparative theology. While motivated by and accounting for a personal Christian–Muslim sibling relationship, the research method predominantly references academic literature, with sections structured by an amended version of Osmer’s four-task model of practical theology. Findings from this research discern that comparative theology is not quite the mediating approach sought; however, its potential contribution towards a ‘hybrid approach’ is explored. The implications of this article seek to encourage orthodox Muslims and evangelical Christians to engage in comparative exchanges that employ a balanced and in-depth approach to understanding our respective faiths. Finally, this article emerges from within the UK; therefore, discussions presented may be differently received by evangelical Christians operating out of divergent biographical contexts.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16030297
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Tags: #Christianity #Islam #Religion
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Defining “Romans” in the Late Antique Near East: Some Preliminary Thoughts on the “Romans” in Sūrat al-Rūm
By Nestor Kavvadas, University of Bonn Center for Comparative Theology and Social
In the opening lines of the sūrah named after the “Romans,” Q Rūm 30, the qurʾānic preacher expresses his solidarity with the “Romans” who had then been defeated by the Persian army. In seeking to better understand these verses, one may start with the question: Who exactly are the “Romans” here? “Roman” was a broad, multifaceted term, as Yannis Stouraitis has lately pointed out, based mainly on sources written after the seventh century and stemming from the Greek-speaking “West” of the Byzantine Empire. In this study, using mainly Syriac sources but also some hitherto unnoticed Greek testimonies coming from the Near East, this semantic variability of the word “Roman” is shown to further expand when going East. Like in most Syriac sources, “Romans” in Q Rūm primarily means members of the Byzantine army (and state apparatus), be they ethnic Greeks, Syrians, or Arabs. At the same time, the “Romans” of this sūrah are all inhabitants, all “citizens” of the Byzantine Empire – not just its armies and magistrates. This latter sense corresponds to the broader sense in which “Romans” is used not only in Syriac, but also in Greek sources (and in other languages of the Late Antique Near East). That broader sense is one that we find in a definition by the Damascene Sophronios of Jerusalem, according to whom “Roman” is anyone “stemming from a city subject to the Romans.”
Another qurʾānic passage that refers to the Byzantines (though without naming them), which has very much to do with the same geopolitical context of the Byzantine-Persian wars, Q Māʾidah 5:17, seems to criticize a “Byzantine” confidence in the invincibility of Christ and Mary. Why does the Qurʾān chose to name the Romans when expressing solidarity with them, yet leave them unnamed when criticizing them? Could it be the case that this difference between naming the “Romans” and leaving them unnamed is somehow meant to show that the solidarity with the “Romans,” as declared expressis verbis in the Sūrat al-Rūm, concerns the entire Byzantine world whereas the sharp criticism in al-Māʾidah is not general in the same sense?
Link: https://doi.org/10.1515/jiqsa-2024-0001
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Tags: #Quran #Islam #History
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A Criticism of the Argument for the Possibility of Religious Science
By Mostafa Taqavi & Maryam Poostforush, Sharif Institute of Technology
Having quoted a number of cases from contemporary science, some philosophers have shown that science has naturalistic biases and argued that in his encounter with such a science one can defend the possibility of religious (or Augustinian) science. In this essay we have shown that “argument of the possibility of religious science” can only prove the possibility of “science influenced by religion” not the “possibility of religious science”. To this end, we have studied three issues: I) religious science, II) presuppositions that play a role in the formation of scientific content, and III) those norms that orient empirical data collection.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2025.2472122
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Tags: #Islam #Science #Religion #ConflictTheisis
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An ancient Arabian war (ḥarb al-Basūs) as reflected in classical Arabic poetry
By Ali Ahmad Hussein, University of Haifa
The war of al-Basūs is among the most renowned wars of pre-Islamic Arabia. It was said to have been fought between two sister-tribes, and to have lasted allegedly for forty years. Its story, especially since the eighteenth century CE, became rich material that nurtured epic and non-epic literary works. This article examines the influence of that war on early Arabic poetry, based on every reference in a corpus of some 27,000 poems, dating from the pre-Islamic era to the fifteenth century. The verses are identified using the Rhetorical Element Identifier database (REI), a web-based tool developed by Ali Ahmad Hussein et al. It considers how the theme of the war developed and compares the mark it made on the earlier poetry with its significant imprint on modern and pre-modern Arabic literature. The main conclusion is that the influence and/or importance of the war in the classical period differed from that of later times. It seems that in this early period it was no more than a local incident, its importance restricted to those involved, and its influence on the wider Arabian community minimal. This study emphasizes the hypothesis that a significant portion of this war is embedded in Arab folklore rather than Arab history.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1093/jis/etae061
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Tags: #Islam #Arab #History
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The Reign of the Muhājirūn: An Exercise in Re-periodization
By Khaled M G Keshk, DePaul University
This article utilizes Bruce Lincoln’s theoretical framework of discourse analysis to understand the power dynamics within three important narratives defined herein as the Muhājirūn period (632–56 CE): the saqīfa incident, the Kufan exiles incident, and the killing of ʿUthmān incident. Discourse analysis allows us to go beyond simply using these stories to reconstruct events in order to understand the nascent Islamic polity and the civil wars of the early Islamic community (umma) in the latter half of the seventh century. The discourse analysis presented in this article disentangles the seventh-century personalities and stories from the restrictive roles that were imposed on them by historians of the eighth to twelfth centuries, so that the Muhājirūn period can be freed from the anachronism of historical retrospectivity.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1093/jis/etaf016
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Tags: #Islam #History #Religion
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Saadya on Necessary Knowledge
By Xiuyuan Dong and Abd-Salam Memet-Ali, Shandong University
Most Muslim and Jewish Mutakallimūn accepted the definition of necessary knowledge as opposed to inferential knowledge, with one remarkable exception, namely, Saadya’s problematic use of this term. He characterized some type of mediate knowledge as “necessary knowledge” and accordingly introduced a second-order necessary knowledge that is necessarily concomitant of the original one. This move may have marked a synthesis of the two main epistemological trends (classical intellectualism and analytical empiricism) at the time.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16040453
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Tags: #Islam #Judaism #Kalam #Epistemology
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Islam and Psychedelics: An Essay on the Issues of Permissibility and Medical Utility
By Haroon Asghar, Chatham Street Surgery
Islamic rulings on intoxicants prohibit psychoactive compounds which : veil the faculties of the mind (khamr), intoxicate (Sakr), do harm and cause enmity between people (Quran 5:91). Psychedelic drugs, recognised by some as not being within this category of intoxicants [Ibn Taymiyyah on Henbane alFataawa al-Kubra, 3/423], are still deemed intoxicants by both the Muslim world and general society. This paper demonstrates that classic psychedelic medicines do not constitute the characteristics of intoxicants. It does so by observing the following characteristics of subjects taking both types of substances:
Behaviour of subjects
Neuroimaging and psychopharmacology
Phenomenology of the Subjects i.e. the conscious experience produced.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2025.2472125
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Tags: #Islam #Psychology #Shariah
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Semantic Generation in the Word yad (‘Hand’) and its Metonyms in the Qur'an
By Mahmoud Mohammed Aldeeky, Al al-Bayt University;
Georges Nicolas Tamer, Friedrich-Alexander University
This article first establishes the terminological framework of the study, defining the terms ‘metonymy’ and ‘semantic generation’ and discussing the cognitive and cultural dimensions of metonymy. It then examines references to various parts of the human body in the Qur'an, such as the hand, eye, ear, heart, leg, back, chest, and mouth. The analys is then moved on to discuss the Qur'anic usage of metonymies for ‘hand’, for example, relating to the finger, fingertip, arm, or palm, such as, for example kaffa aydaykum(‘stop their hands’), and phrases related to ‘extending and clenching’ the hand, and ‘turning the palms over’. It also explores the treatment of these metonyms in exegetical works, and the issues that these phrases have raised for exegetes. The methodological approach is based in modern linguistic techniques including pragmatics, cognitive linguistics, and systems of interpretation and reception.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3366/jqs.2024.0599
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Tags: #God #Quran #Exegesis #Arabic
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God, So What? The Significance of God’s Existence or Nonexistence
By Nick Zangwill, University College London
The question of whether or not God exists matters a great deal to billions of people. The question is taken to be an important question. Theists and atheists agree on this. And the question generates much heat. Much is thought to turn on it. But there is a puzzle about why this should be. First, I clarify the question at issue, distinguishing it from various other issues. Then I reject a number of familiar ideas for addressing this question. Having cleared the ground, I offer a positive suggestion according to which theism is committed to shared essences between human beings and God, plus a dependence relation between those essences. The debate turns out to be one about human nature, in such a way as to make sense of heat generated. After that, a familiar Aristotelian theist view is contrasted with Platonist shared essentialism to the advantage of the latter. Lastly, I consider some religious consequences of the shared essentialism.
Link: https://doi.org/10.37977/faithphil.2023.40.4.5
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Tags: #God #Aristotle #Religion
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Islamic Finance and Sustainable Development
By M. Kabir Hassan, University of New Orleans;
Aishath Muneeza, INCEIF University Coventry University and Rashedul Hasan
Islamic finance is rooted in Shariah or Islamic law, which promotes the well-being of humanity and discourages harmful practices. This Element highlights the nexus between Islamic finance and sustainable development, emphasizing the ethical and socially responsible nature of Islamic finance. It discusses how Islamic financial institutions contribute to sustainable development through the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals , Environmental, Social, and Governance criteria, and Socially Responsible Investment practices. Case studies from different parts of the world demonstrate practical applications of Islamic finance principles in supporting SDG. It suggests reforms that can unlock the full potential of Islamic finance, including the institutionalization of Islamic social finance, convergence with commercial finance, leveraging technology, integrating Shariah-based financial products, considering social return as a benchmark for approving products, introducing blended finance, and collaborating with humanitarian agencies. The potential of Islamic finance for sustainable development provides valuable insights for academicians, practitioners, and policymakers.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009464963
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Tags: #Religion #Islam #Shariah #Law
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God, So What? The Significance of God's Existence or Nonexistence
By Nick Zangwill, University College London and Lincoln University
The question of whether or not God exists matters a great deal to billions of people and is taken to be an important one. Theists and atheists agree on this, and the question generates much heat, with much thought to turn on it. However, there is a puzzle about why this should be. First, I clarify the question at issue, distinguishing it from various other issues, and then reject several familiar ideas for addressing it. Having cleared the ground, I offer a positive suggestion: theism is committed to shared essences between human beings and God, plus a dependence relation between those essences. The debate ultimately revolves around human nature, which explains the intensity it generates. Following this, a familiar Aristotelian theist view is contrasted with Platonist shared essentialism, favoring the latter. Finally, I consider some religious consequences of shared essentialism.
Link: https://doi.org/10.37977/faithphil.2023.40.4.5
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Tags: #Theism #God #Aristotle #Religion
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Uncertainty in the philosophy of Ibn ‘arabī and Nūr al-Dīn al-Jāmī
By Ismail Lala, Gulf University for Science and Technology
The renowned mystical thinker Muḥyī al-Dīn ibn ‘Arabī (d. 638/1240) believes uncertainty (ḥayra) has a higher epistemological value than certainty. This is because certainty is only of ostensible reality, which ignores the true ontological underpinnings of phenomenality. To become cognisant of the reality that palpitates beneath the facade of the sensible world, we only have recourse to uncertainty. Uncertainty makes us realise that all existents are loci of divine manifestation. Nevertheless, God is simultaneously transcendent and immanent, which means we can only know God through discarding the rule of the excluded middle. This, says Ibn ‘Arabī, gives rise to metaphysical uncertainty. Ibn ‘Arabī’s notion of uncertainty was subsequently taken up by an important commentator, Nūr al-Dīn al-Jāmī (d. 898/1492), who systematises uncertainty into different levels and offers an original hierarchy that defines which types of uncertainty are positive and which are negative.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/09552367.2025.2476312
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Tags: #Islam #Religion #IbnArabi #God
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The Sufi Shaykh of Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb? An Overview of the Writings of the Madinan Ḥadīth Scholar Muḥammad Ḥayāt al-Sindī
By Zachary Wright, Northwestern University
The pronounced Sufi affiliations of nearly all notable eighteenth-century scholars active in the eighteenth-century, with the notorious exception of Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, most often appear in academic literature as a secondary consideration: a vestige of ‘tradition’ still in process of ‘reformation’. Described as the ‘bearer of the banner of the Sunna in Medina’, Muḥammad Ḥayāt al-Sindī (d. 1750) was situated at the heart of scholarly networks in the eighteenth-century Hijaz. He was allegedly the direct teacher of such influential figures as Shāh Walī-Allāh (d. 1762), Muḥammad al-Sammān (d. 1775), and Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Wahhāb (d. 1792). This article explores his writing on pedagogy, ḥadīth, jurisprudence, theology, and Sufism to argue that this key scholar articulated a coherent identity as a Sufi intellectual within the Akbarian-influenced networks of eighteenth-century Arabia. Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb’s alleged affiliation to al-Sindī was the exception that proved the rule of dynamic theological and mystical scholarly exchanges within the period.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1093/jis/etaf013
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Tags: #Islam #Religion #Hadith #History
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The Mālikiyya in the Twenty-First Century: A Traditionalist Islamic Legal School Navigating State Co-optation, Reformist Pressures, and Neotraditionalist Impulses
By Alexander Thurston, University of Cincinnati
This article examines the contemporary trajectories of the Mālikiyya, one of the four main extant legal schools within Sunni Islam. The article argues that the contest around defending, attacking, and reformulating traditionalist Islamic fiqh (jurisprudence) is one of the key venues for negotiating Islamic identity in the twenty-first century. Yet traditionalist jurists have been an afterthought in discussions of the “makers” or “shapers” of contemporary Islam, who are often held to be either lay-led Islamist movements or reformist intellectuals and activists. Using an interdisciplinary lens drawn from religious studies and political science, the article examines how the Mālikī school’s jurists are navigating their consequential relationships with states, reformists, and neotraditionalists. The school is transforming and adapting as Mālikīs variously accept or reject state patronage, embrace or resist reformism, subscribe to or challenge neotraditionalism, and adjust or reaffirm the traditionalist canon. Meanwhile, other actors co-opt, criticize, or otherwise engage elements of Mālikism. The article draws on a wide array of textual and audiovisual sources produced by contemporary Mālikīs as well as on government websites, reformist and neotraditionalist texts, and my fieldwork in Mauritania and Morocco. This inquiry into the trajectory of the Mālikī school has wider ramifications for understanding constructions of traditionalist religious authority in the world today, particularly in terms of how religious law functions as an arena where identities are defined and debated.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1086/732494
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Tags: #Islam #Religion #Traditionalism #Shariah
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Islamic Discourse and Armed Resistance: Fatah’s Strategic Use of Islam in the Palestinian Struggle 1970–1982
By Ido Zelkovitz, University of Haifa
This article examines Fatah’s strategic and ideological evolution during the 1970s and early 1980s, focusing on its adoption of Islamic discourse to strengthen internal cohesion and broaden its influence. It explores how this shift shaped Fatah’s political and military strategies, contributing to its identity formation and support within the Palestinian and Arab public. The findings underscore the role of ideological flexibility in navigating geopolitical dynamics and forging alliances with Islamist factions, including Hezbollah, highlighting the nuanced interplay between pragmatism and ideology in national liberation movements. The study focuses on understanding how Fatah’s adoption of Islamic discourse influenced its political and military strategies during this period. By incorporating Islamic myths and symbols, Fatah not only strengthened internal cohesion but also expanded its influence among young Islamists eager to engage in the Palestinian struggle. This research addresses the central question: How did the adoption of Islamic discourse shape Fatah’s political and military strategies during its transition from Jordan to Lebanon, and how did it contribute to the movement’s identity formation and its success in garnering support among the Palestinian and broader Arab public?
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16030298
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Tags: #Politics #Islam #Religion
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THE CONTROVERSY OVER RECITING THE QUR'AN WITH TONES (AL-QIR'AH BI’L-ALHAN )
By Christopher Melchert, Oxford University
Whether it is acceptable to recite the Qur'an with tones (al-qira'ah bi'l-alhan) touches on two larger issues, the acceptability of music and the distinctiveness of Islam from Christianity and Judaism. Various hadith reports apparently caused difficulty for traditionalists who rejected recitation with tones. The reports themselves were evidently too well established to be rejected. Sometimes they were nullified by more or less strained interpretation, sometimes by paraphrase. Early Hanbali literature is strongly opposed to recitation of the Qur'an with tones. Maliki literature also rejects it, but the Hanafi school seems to have been divided. By contrast, the earliest Shafi'i literature is permissive.
Link: https://doi.org/10.31441/jiqsa.4.2019.a003
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Tags: #Quran #Islam #Hadith
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A Utilitarian Islamic Jurist: al-Shāṭibī
By Metin Aydın and Feyza Cevherli, Sakarya University
Utilitarianism is a theory of morality and law that aims for the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people. The two names that come to mind when utilitarianism is mentioned in Western thought are Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, the founders of the theory. Although this theory emerged in Western philosophy, theories that appeal to the concept of utility as the standard of rightness of moral and legal actions can be found in almost every tradition of thought. One of these traditions is Islamic philosophy. In particular, the theory of maṣlaḥa, which is one of the most important legal theories of Islamic legal thought, is a theory that accepts the concept of utility as a fundamental principle. In this article, we focus on the theory of maṣlaḥa of Abū Isḥāq al-Shāṭibī, one of the most prominent thinkers of the theory of maṣlaḥa. Our aim in this article is to point out the similarities and differences between maṣlaḥa theory and utilitarianism, thereby drawing attention to the functionality of the concept of utility as a standard of right or wrong for ethics and law, regardless of society and period
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16030290
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Tags: #Utilitarianism #Islam #Shariah #Law
