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Sinai Arabic MS 68: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of a Unique Arabic Gospel Manuscript
By Phillip W Stokes, The University of Tennessee ; Noha Abou-Khatwa, The American University in Cairo; Georg Leube, University of Bayreuth
The study of the Bible in Arabic has become a topic of increasing interest among scholars of the intellectual history of the Islamic world, as well as Christianity in areas under Islamic rule. Nevertheless, most Arabic Bible manuscripts remain largely, or even totally, unstudied. While the textual and theological dimensions of these translations are attracting increasing scholarly attention, their linguistic analysis remains dominated by a traditionalist approach now completely outdated. This paper has two goals, one descriptive and one methodological. First, we aim to fully describe the Arabic Gospel manuscript Sinai Arabic MS 68, traditionally dated to the 14th century CE but which we date to the 16th century CE, perhaps in the aftermath of the fall of the Mamluk empire. Our description focuses on the linguistic nature of the manuscript, but includes discussions of its history and materiality as well. Second, we propose a methodological approach to studying the language of the text that takes seriously non-Classical components and contextualizes these features within what is known from other such non-Classical compositions, including especially Christian manuscripts. We conclude that the manuscript was produced by artisans and a scribe with significant courtly experience, and shows evidence of multiple normative linguistic registers, which argues strongly for the importance of broadening the framework within which scholars interpret such ‘Middle Arabic’ texts.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1093/jss/fgae020
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Tags: #Bible #Religion #History #Arabic
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Many Worlds and Moral Responsibility
By Emily Qureshi-Hurst, University of Oxford
Moral responsibility is integral to most forms of theism. Yet its coherence as a concept is contingent upon the fulfilment of certain metaphysical conditions. In this paper I argue that (1) the continued existence of the self, and (2) freedom of will and action, are necessary conditions for moral responsibility, particularly within a theistic context. I then argue that the Everett Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics (or, the Many Worlds Interpretation) throws these assumptions into question in new and interesting ways.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2024.2359187
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Tags: #Theism #Metaphysics #QuantumMechanics #Morality
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Purpose-Driven Life in Islam and Emotional Stability: Examining Said Nursi’s Perspective
By Salih Yucel, Charles Sturt University
This article discusses the significance of a purpose-driven life in achieving emotional stability and wellbeing, particularly from the perspective of Said Nursi (d. 1960). The central focus is on Nursi’s belief that a purpose-driven life, rooted in religious and spiritual principles, is essential for emotional stability. This article first explores the relationship between emotional stability and a purpose- driven life by examining Nursi’s works, highlighting his unwavering emotional strength in adversity. Second, the article draws a connection between Nursi’s philosophy and Ibn Sina’s theory of pleasure. Nursi’s alignment with this theory suggests that intellectual pleasure is permanent and intrinsic to human nature, distinguishing it from sensual and inward pleasures. Nursi advocates engaging in spiritual practices as sources of solace and healing, offering structured ways to process emotions and gain emotional stability during challenging times. Finally, this article discusses Nursi’s comprehensive perspective on a purpose- driven life and emotional stability, guiding readers toward resilience, personal growth and a closer relationship with the Divine, ultimately leading to emotional stability and wellbeing. A purpose-driven life serves as a source of inspiration, fostering resilience and equipping individuals to face and overcome challenges. When life becomes purposeless, it becomes unliveable. Nursi suggests the human ego can lead to emotional stability if purified and used wisely. Overall, this article argues that Nursi’s philosophy on emotional stability is highly idealistic and can be practised by the spiritual elite. However, individuals can benefit from it according to their spiritual level.
Link: https://doi.org/10.55831/ajis.v9i2.649
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Tags: #Islam #Psychology #Sociology
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Natural Sciences in the Era of ‘Decline’: Discovering Manuscripts at Jāmi’ Al-Azhar
By Muhammad Faris Ibrahim, Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia
This article critically examines the commonly held narrative of decline, in relation to the development of natural sciences in Islamic history. The period between the 16th and 19th centuries CE is often referred to as a time of decline for Islamic civilisation. Conversely, this period is also considered an important time for the European Renaissance and its modern age, including in terms of natural sciences. In this article, I argue that, while attempts to periodise Islamic history can facilitate better understanding of historical developments, they are often significantly influenced by underlying biases aimed at exerting dominance over the Muslim world. I have found the narrative of decline is closely connected to the linear movement theory of history. Furthermore, Egyptian modernists used the decline narrative to criticise al-Azhar without acknowledging its scholars’ support for progress. Lastly, the narrative of decline built by modernists against al-Azhar for not paying attention to the natural sciences needs to be critically reviewed, particularly by referring to manuscripts written by al-Azhar scholars related to natural sciences, such as medicine, algebra, astronomy and engineering from the 16th to 19th centuries as a counter- narrative of decline.
Link: https://doi.org/10.55831/ajis.v9i2.679
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Tags: #Islam #History #Culture
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Practical Mysticism in Islam and Christianity: A Comparative Study of Rabia al-Adawiyya and Catherine of Genoa
By Patricia Enedudu Idoko, DeSales University
The mystical experiences in various forms are fundamental to major religious traditions. The idea of “mysticism” brings up the concept of the ineffable mysterium, which is seen as the central theme around which religions are based. The comparative studies of Rabia al-Adawiyya and Catherine of Genoa do not intend, as with phenomenological and essentialist approaches to the study of religion, to only focus on the similarities of the mystics in order to find universal structures and essential meanings. Nor does it seek to concentrate solely on the differences between the mystics as done by constructivist scholars. Instead, the comparative methodology used in this article highlights the similarities and differences between the respective mystics, Rabia and Catherine, and uses these comparisons to draw attention to an example of interreligious spirituality that cuts across religious traditions. To illustrate this point, it helps to compare two mystics: Rabia from the Islamic tradition and Catherine from the Christian tradition. This study is structured in four parts: an introduction to the concept of mystical experiences, a brief overview of the lives of Rabia and Catherine, a comparative analysis of their mystical characteristics, and a discussion of how their experiences can serve as a model for interreligious spirituality and friendship.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15091030
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Tags: #Islam #Sufism #Christianity
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Reincarnation and Universal Salvation
By Akshay Gupta, Cambridge University; Alex Gallagher, Independent Scholar
In this paper, we defend universalism, which we understand to be the thesis that all individuals will eventually attain communion with God, in a Vedāntic context. We first outline the specific ontological commitments that our view requires, such as the doctrines of karman and reincarnation, and we note one Vedāntic tradition that holds to all these commitments. We then outline the conceptual merits of our view. We also argue that certain objections to universalism do not undermine our view, as reincarnation and karman provide a means for all individuals to eventually freely choose to devote themselves to God, making it extremely likely that all individuals will attain salvation.
Link: https://doi.org/10.37977/faithphil.2023.40.1.6
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Tags: #Hinduism #God #Religion
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Testing the religion/spirituality-mental health curvilinear hypothesis using data from many-analysts religion project
By Luke Galen, Grand Valley State University; David Speed, University of New Brunswick
Findings from the recent Many-Analysts Religion Project (MARP) have been characterized as supporting a robust positive relationship between various measures of religion and aspects of well-being. However different conceptualizations of religiosity (e.g. identity, attendance, belief, conviction) can theoretically be expected to display distinct (e.g. non-linear or curvilinear) patterns of relationships with different manifestations of well-being. Additionally extant analyses of MARP data have not addressed how influences such as social support affect the relationship between religion/spirituality (R/S) and well-being. The present analysis restricted to a subset of countries with the predominant religion of Christianity found that net demographic controls, meaning in life, and enjoyment of life was significantly higher among those identifying as religious, attending religious service, and identifying as believing in God. However, when God was modelled quadratically, both meaning in life and enjoyment of life demonstrated a “J-shaped” relationship, although the nuances for their interpretation were distinct. Thus, partial support was found for a quadradic or “J-shaped” relationship between religious belief and mental well-being. Finally, adjusting estimates for social support tended to diminish the importance of R/S variables for predicting well-being, suggesting that increased well-being evinces a complex relationship with religious belief.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2024.2378992
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Tags: #Religion #Atheism #Sociology
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Religious beliefs and social practices
By Andrew C. Dole, Amherst College
Working within the framework of a conception that makes social practices central to religion, I present an account of religious beliefs as beliefs that are targets of group-specific social practices organized around the norm that these beliefs are to be held. In addition to opening up new avenues of investigation regarding the ways religious adherents negotiate the expectations of their communities around issues of believing, the account generates reasons to resist the idea that religion is characterized by a distinctive kind of doxastic or quasi-doxastic propositional attitude. On my understanding, belief-targeted social practices can generate cognitive dissonance when they make religious adherents responsible for holding beliefs that they do not have good reasons to hold. And the variety of results produced by this dissonance suggests that there is no uniform resolution to this situation, but rather that belief-targeted social practices generate considerable instability within religious communities.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/0048721X.2024.2388437
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Tags: #Religion #Psychology #CSR #Sociology
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Patriarch Timothy I and the Prophethood of Muḥammad: A Re-Appraisal
By Charles Tieszen, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena
In the late-eighth century, the East-Syrian Patriarch Timothy I participated in a debate with the ‘Abbāsid Caliph al-Mahdī. During their discussion, Timothy responded to a question about how he understood the Prophet Muḥammad. His answer is now well known to scholars. ‘He walked in the path of the prophets and trod in the track of the lovers of God’. What, exactly, Timothy meant by this eloquent response is interpreted by scholars in a variety of ways. In this article, I examine these interpretations and introduce new evidence that gives us a better idea of what Timothy meant when he answered al-Mahdī's question. I argue that Timothy's response was more than a politically expedient reply; he drew upon a worldview formed by sacred literature, liturgy and piety in order to affirm Muḥammad as a prophet within a Christian framework.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/09596410.2024.2378616
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Tags: #Religion #Islam #Prophet
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Youth, Spirituality, Religion, and the Categories in Between
By Stefano Sbalchiero and Giuseppe Giordan, University of Padova
Spirituality among young people has garnered attention within the realm of social studies of religions and spiritualities, both globally and in Italy. In this study, we present findings derived from a survey conducted with 1384 students aged 13 to 20 who were attending a high school in Vicenza, in the Veneto region. Viewing young individuals as active participants in a transition to greater autonomy, one with religious and spiritual dimensions, our empirical findings indicate the emergence of a distinct orientation: the ‘spiritual but not completely religious’ mindset. From this perspective, not only methodologically but also in terms of content, the domains of religion and spirituality, for this age group, appear to be more porous than exclusive or alternative. The identified orientation seems to characterise a compromise between what one has been during childhood and adolescence and the transition to adulthood, which is characterised by increased independence. This orientation not only captures a momentary snapshot of a fluid phenomenon but also contributes to ongoing discussions about spiritualities, which evolve within diverse social and cultural contexts.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080923
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Tags: #Religion #Spirituality #Sociology
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To Discipline or to Forget: A Sufi–Zen Comparative Analysis of the Self in the Writings of al-Ghazālī and Dōgen
By Saeko Yazaki, University of Glasgow
Sufism and Zen share a number of theories and practices, including a concern with lived experience. This article analyses the basis of their teachings, namely, the idea of the self, in texts by two important figures in the respective traditions, Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn (“The Revival of the Religious Sciences”) by Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111) for Sufism, and Shōbōgenzō 正法眼蔵 (“The Treasury of the True Dharma-Eye”) by Dōgen 道元 (d. 1253) for Zen. Al-Ghazālī emphasises the necessity of disciplining the self (nafs) in order for the heart to remember God only, while Dōgen famously asserts the importance of learning and forgetting the self (jiko 自己) in the way of the Buddha. This study first examines al-Ghazālī’s and Dōgen’s views of the self, and then compares their teachings. The juxtaposition of the two masterpieces reveals striking similarities as well as fundamental differences at both doctrinal and practical levels. Despite these similarities, although al-Ghazālī and Dōgen have been contrasted with thinkers outside their own tradition, they have yet to be compared directly. Without denying the philosophical depth of the thought of the two authors, this study also highlights the importance of faith in both the Iḥyāʾ and Shōbōgenzō.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080929
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Tags: #Islam #Sufism #Ghazali
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Tafsīr and taʾwīl in Post-Classical Sufi Scholarship: The Study of Correspondences (taṭbīq) in Q. 10:90–92
By Arjun Nair, University of Southern California
Recent evidence from imperial archives suggests that in the sixteenth century Ottoman religious scholars were interested in Sufi modes of engagement with scripture along with mainstream, conventional forms of exegesis. This juxtaposition raises questions about the connections between these two very different types of engagement with the divine word. How might scholars at this time have thought about the relationship between Sufi forms of taʾwīl and mainstream forms of tafsīr? Were they complementary approaches to interpretation that were both necessary for a complete understanding of the divine word, or conflicting approaches to the study of scripture, of which only one was able to legitimately discuss its meanings? In this article, I present evidence from one tradition of post-classical Sufi scholarship that shows how Sufi commentators worked to overcome old challenges to the legitimacy of taʾwīl, and to reconceptualise tafsīr and taʾwīl as complementary forms of exegesis, both of which were necessary for a complete understanding of the Qur’an. This trajectory is marked out by the Taʾwīlāt al-Najmiyya of Najm al-Dīn Kubrā (d. 618/1221) and Najm al-Dīn Dāya Rāzī (d. 654/1256), the Taʾwīlāt al-Qurʾān of ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Kāshānī (d. 730–736/1329–1335), and the Muḥīṭ al-aʿẓam of Sayyid Ḥaydar Āmulī (d. after 787/1385), which constitute a ‘genealogical tradition’ of post-classical Sufi scholarship. I further illustrate how this tradition imagined the complementarity between tafsīrand taʾwīl through a close reading of one Qur’anic episode – the crossing of the sea by Moses and the Israelites and the drowning of Pharaoh and his hosts (Q. 10:90–92) – from tafsīr to taʾwīl. I show specifically that the commentary on this episode instantiates a powerful methodology systematised.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3366/jqs.2024.0578
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Tags: #Islam #Quran #Exegesis #Sufism
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Muḥammad as the Qur’an in Ibn ‘Arabī’s Metaphysics
By Ismail Lala, Gulf University for Science and Technology
Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn ‘Arabī (d. 638/1240) is regarded as one of the foremost mystical thinkers in Islam. This paper explores the ways in which he and his followers distinguish between the reality of Muḥammad (al-ḥaqīqa al-Muḥammadiyya) or the light of Muḥammad (al-nūr al-Muḥammadī), as the metaphysical reality of Muḥammad, and his metahistorical manifestation as Muḥammad Ibn ‘Abd Allāh. In his metaphysical reality, Muḥammad is the manifestation of the qur’ān, which ‘brings together’ the divine and His creation. Muḥammad’s metaphysical reality, as the primary recipient of the divine outpouring, enables further differentiations of the divine to emerge in the form of the universe, and establishes his connection to the divine. Yet the Qur’an is also temporal in terms of being an historical act of revelation. Likewise, Muḥammad Ibn ‘Abd Allāh, in terms of his physical reality, was temporally circumscribed. It is in these ways, argues Ibn ‘Arabī and his acolytes, that Muḥammad, as reality and personality, brings together the divine and the temporal, in the same manner as the qur’ān/Qur’an respectively.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-022-00941-0
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Tags: #Islam #Quran #IbnArabi #Metaphysics
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Adab al-Qāḍi: Shared Juridical Virtues of Judaic and Islamic Leadership
By Neri Y. Ariel, Bar-Ilan University
This paper argues for proximity between the two branches of a jurisprudential–adjudicative genre: manuals for judges or the etiquette for the judgeship. I wish to demonstrate that the proximity, lexicography, ways and tools of argument, etc., are founded upon a meta-legal stratum that contains kalam theology. In this paper, I will elaborate on the genre and its discovery, define some basic principles for the field of discussion, and provide textual examples of the proximities between the two branches of the genre based on pre-legal or meta-halachic demands. I suggest a preliminary result here and lay the groundwork for further research in the future: The criteria for the appointment of the true judge sketch out his idealized personality. He is more than an administrator of the judicial bureaucracy: he is a guide for the legally perplexed peoplehood, both in Judaism and Islam.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080891
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Tags: #Islam #Judaism #Law
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A New Theistic Argument Based on Creativity
By Man Ho Chan, The Education University of Hong Kong
It has been argued for a long time that God has been involved in the biological evolutionary processes observed on Earth. However, no convincing theistic argument has yet been formulated for biological evolution. In this article, I use the concept of creativity to argue that biological evolution manifests an embedded intelligence. This articulates a new form of theistic argument related to biological evolution and offers another sound argument supporting the existence of God. My reasoning suggests that nature might be panentheistic, or that an external personal God manipulates natural laws to direct the process of evolution.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15070876
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Tags: #Pantheism #God #Theism #Evolution #Creation
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EXPLORING THE CONCEPT OF EVIL THROUGH THE LENS OF MAJOR WORLD RELIGIONS
By Maximilian Becker, University of Heidelberg
Research exposes that the investigation of malevolent has flourished nearby polarise ideas, for example, Virtuous clashing with Malevolent, Lord contra Devil, Person contra Country, Ignite contra Obscurity, & Tissue contra Soul. Sympathy the idea of malicious will assist us with tracking down innovative and successful approaches to conquering insidiousness and consequently make ready for the prospering of morality. The research study exploring the concept of Evil through major world religion. As long as there is an aspect of religion in human life, there is an aspect of virtue and evil also exists along with it. As we know there is no single religion across the whole world but the mixture of multiple religions that are being followed and practiced in the whole world. There are various concepts related to Evil in every religion. In this research, we are going to discuss the concepts of Evil in major world religions to know about the Roots of evil. As we know human beings have both spirits including virtue and evil. The first spirit makes human beings closer to God but later one moves human beings away from God.
Link: https://doi.org/10.24204/ejpr.2024.4428
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Tags: #God #Religion #PoE #Evil
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The Necessary Connection between Laws of Physics and Metaphysics
By Omer Atilla Ergi, Charles Sturt University
This article examines the need for a comprehensive theory that explains the creation of the universe and the enigmatic behaviours observed in quantum particles. Recent advancements in quantum physics have revealed phenomena in the microscopic and macroscopic realms that challenge conventional explanations based solely on natural laws. This article introduces an argument centred on the concept of “presence of metaphysics in physics” as a means to provide a plausible account for the improbable existence of the universe and the mechanics of the space-time continuum. By incorporating ontological principles in classical physics and quantum mechanics, this proposed model sheds light on the origins of natural laws while also considering the mysterious balance and intricacies observed in micro and macrocosms. Moreover, this article argues that a mere succession of random events guided by mathematical probabilities cannot adequately establish and govern the natural laws that appear to have arisen with the aim of fostering life within the universe.
Link: https://doi.org/10.55831/ajis.v9i2.625
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Tags: #Islam #Metaphysics #Science
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The Role of Reason in Establishing Civilization: Insights from Classical Muslim Perspectives
By Fadi Zatari, Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University
The role of reason in initiating and maintaining civilisation, as elucidated by Abū al-Ḥasan al-Māwardī (d. 1058), is pivotal, serving as the faculty for distinguishing good from bad and guiding behaviour. Al-Māwardī divides reason into two stages: natural and acquired. This understanding of reason is shared by other scholars, such as al-Muḥāsibī (d. 857) and Ibn abi al-Dunyā (d. 894). Hawá or desire is seen as antithesis to reason, serving as a manifestation of ethical corruption and instigating perpetual conflict. To build any society, reason takes a central role at individual and societal levels. This article argues that there are no possibilities for a civilisation to be constituted and maintained without a central role for reason. This article analyses al- Māwardi’s conception of reason in relation to civilisation. Al-Māwardī contends that reason not only serves as the cornerstone for societal development, but also facilitates understanding of religion, an essential aspect in his ideology. This article concludes that deep understanding of reason’s role in civilisation provides an appropriate direction for understanding civilisation and how reason can enhance and improve people’s decent conduct and manners.
Link: https://doi.org/10.55831/ajis.v9i2.645
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Tags: #Islam #History #Politics
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The Impact of Religious Practices on Shaping Cultural Habits: The Case of Child Sacrifice among the Pre-Islāmic Arabs from the Qur’ānic Perspective
By Soner Aksoy, Sakarya University
One of the traditions observed in pre-Islāmic Arab society (Jāhiliyya) was the practice of child sacrifice. This practice drew strong condemnation and opposition in various passages of the Qur’ān. The underlying impetus behind the Jāhiliyya Arabs (pre-Islāmic Arabs) to engage in such acts, especially the sacrifice of their daughters, finds its explanation in the phrase khashya imlāq, “fear of poverty,” as stated in the applicable passages. Nonetheless, a careful examination of the narrations (riwāyāts) and passages pertaining to the subject reveals a fundamental relationship between the Arabs’ custom of child sacrifice and their votive rituals. This paper aims to scrutinize this intricate relationship. It commences with the identification of the riwāyāts linked to the Jāhiliyya society’s custom of presenting children as offerings to their deities. Subsequently, a comprehensive analysis will be presented on interpretations put forth by Muslim exegetes (mufassirūn) regarding Qur’ānic passages addressing the theme of child sacrifice. This paper argues that while the ostensible motivation for child sacrifice, particularly that of daughters, is often attributed to peniaphobia, an examination of the relevant passages, riwāyāts, and the exegetical interpretations leads to the conclusion that this practice is intertwined with the votive beliefs once held by the Jāhiliyya Arabs. Accordingly, it can be concluded that belief strongly influences the formation of customs and practices at the social and individual levels, even when forgotten over time. Thus, a notable example illustrates a close relationship between religion and culture. Moreover, the influence of religious motivation and beliefs in legitimizing brutal practices, such as the killing of a child, is highlighted.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15081019
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Tags: #Islam #Quran #History #Culture
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Muslim, Not Supermuslim: A Critique of Islamicate Transhumanism
By Syed Mustafa Ali, The Open University
Informed by ideas drawn from critical race theory and decolonial thought, in this paper, I mount a critique of Roy Jackson’s proposal for an Islamicate philosophical and theological contribution to the Transhumanist goal of forging a posthuman successor to humanity. My principal concern is to draw attention to the assimilatory nature and status of Islamicate Transhumanism within the broader context of Transhumanism, understood as a technological articulation and refinement of global white supremacy in a technoscientific register.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080975
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Tags: #Islam #Theology #Religion
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Prayer as collaborative problem solving
By E. B. Schille-Hudson, Stanford University; T. M. Luhrmann, Stanford University & D. Landy, Indiana University
Why do people pray? In this paper, we suggest another important dimension of prayer, namely that prayer is a form of collaborative problem solving. In this paper, we use both qualitative evidence drawn from interviews and quantitative evidence from a survey and an experiment to show that people use prayer to solve practical problems in their lives. We also argue that the informal and personal ways in which people address God in prayer put God into the role of collaborator in their problem solving. This paper argues that not only do people solve practical problems in prayer, but also that there is a training effect of prayer—namely that with experience, prayer is perceived to be more efficacious as a problem-solving process.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2024.2349778
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Tags: #Spirituality #God #Psychology
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Science and religion around the world: compatibility between belief systems predicts increased well-being
By Michael E. Price, Brunel University London; Dominic D. P. Johnson, University of Oxford
Previous research, conducted mainly in Western societies, indicates that religious/spiritual (R/S) and pro-science belief systems each relate positively to believer well-being, but are perceived as being highly incompatible with each other. This perception would presumably undermine one's ability to benefit fully from both systems, leading to the research questions examined here: does the perceived incompatibility between religion and science vary cross-culturally, and is this level of incompatibility itself related to group member well-being? Our data set included 55,230 participants from 54 countries, organized for analytical purposes into 13 global regions and 11 belief groups. We found that perceived incompatibility between R/S and pro-science beliefs was indeed characteristic of the West but was not the norm cross-culturally. We also found that higher levels of belief system compatibility related positively to well-being, and especially to the strength of positive associations between well-being and each type of belief system. That is, in regions and belief groups that perceived higher compatibility, well-being's positive relationships with R/S and pro-science beliefs were both also higher. We speculate about compatibility's potential causal effects on these relationships, noting that as compatibility increases, so does the possibility of benefiting from one system without forgoing the benefits of the other.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2024.2363773
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Tags: #Religion #Spirituality #Sociology
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Response to Zainab Bint Younus’ Review of "Women and Gender in the Qur’an"
By Celene Ibrahim, Groton School
I thank AJIS for recently reviewing my monograph Women and Gender in the Qur’an (Oxford University Press, 2020) and thank Zainab Bint Younus of MuslimMatters.org for taking the time to review the work. I must, however, take issue with the reviewer’s line of critique.
As an academic exercise, Women and Gender in the Qur’an offers a reading of the scripture that investigates intra-textual coherence through philological and structural methods. To miss this point is to miss the theoretical foundation of the project. The book does not purport to analyze hadith corpuses or the tafsīr tradition writ large, and I do not attempt to systematically analyze other early Muslim representations of female figures. In constructing a book-length work, a scholar must discern how to narrow the source material to an appropriate scope. In seeing that no previous scholar had produced an intra-textual reading that examines all Qur’anic verses involving female figures, this is where I contributed. The justifications for my scope and methodological focus are included in the book but are unfortunately not presented clearly in the review.
Link: https://doi.org/10.35632/ajis.v41i2.3386
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Tags: #Quran #Islam #Feminism #Gender
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Classical Theism and Theological Method: A Critical Inquiry
By John C. Peckham, Andrews University
Some classical theists contend that the Christian tradition demands affirmation of the following four tenets—divine simplicity, timelessness, immutability, and impassibility—in their absolute or strict senses, a position I refer to as strict classical theism. These four tenets, however, are the subject of considerable debate in recent scholarship. This article engages the ongoing debate by focusing on some significant difficulties strict classical theism faces relative to meeting two widely held standards of Christian theological method: the standard of biblical warrant and the standard of systematic coherence. First, highlighting classical Christology as a test case, this article suggests that strict classical theism faces pressure to either revise or abandon some contested tenets or confront the prospect of abandoning the standard of systematic coherence. Second, the article turns to highlighting some ways that strict classical theism struggles to meet the standard of biblical warrant, which might necessitate a reevaluation of some of its core claims and the viability of common appeals made to the Christian tradition in support of such claims. This article is not intended as a conclusive argument against strict classical theism but aims at the more modest goal of pressing these points regarding theological method, calling for serious consideration, and inviting further discussion.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080915
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Tags: #Religion #Theism #God #Theology
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Entropy and the Idea of God(s): A Philosophical Approach to Religion as a Complex Adaptive System
By Matthew Zaro Fisher, Loyola High School of Los Angeles
While a universal definition of religion eludes the field of religious studies, it certainty seems that people are becoming differently religious rather than a-religious, especially since the latter half of the twentieth century. To explain the enduring relevance of religion in human experience, this article expands on recent evolutionary and sociological research in the systems theory of religion and develops a philosophical approach to understanding religion as a complex adaptive system. Frameworks of meaning and beliefs communicated by religious systems emerge and adapt in relation to interpretive selection pressures communicated by individuals-in-community relative to entropy’s role in one’s contingent experience as a “teleodynamic self” in the arrow of time. Religious systems serve an entropy-reducing function in the minds of individuals, philosophically speaking, because their sign and symbol systems communicate an “anentropic” dimension to meaning that prevents uncertainty ad infinitum (e.g., maximum Shannon entropy) concerning matters of existential concern for phenomenological systems, i.e., persons. Religious systems will continue to evolve, and new religious movements will spontaneously emerge, as individuals find new ways to communicate their intuition of this anentropic dimension of meaning in relation to their experience of contingency in the arrow of time.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080925
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Tags: #Religion #Epistemology #God
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Between Words and Worlds: Masters’ Sayings in Early Sufi Literature
By Arin Salamah-Qudsi, University of Haifa
The purpose of this article is to examine the intersections between the corpus of sayings in the Sufi tradition and the changing realities in the period between the third/ninth and seventh/thirteenth centuries. The main hypothesis is that masters’ sayings were neither expressions of abstract theories nor mere responses to changing forms of religious identities but rather a powerful engine for the shifts then occurring in the Sufi tradition as a whole. This notion is examined from two realms. The first is an examination of the ways Sufi sayings went far beyond being a vessel for mystical themes and acted as an effective instrument in the hands of Sufi masters in their quest for authority. Sufi sayings helped masters build the foundations for a shared Sufi “science” transmitted through generations of Sufis and contributed, thereby, to establishing a powerful collective identity and institution. In the second realm, this paper categorizes the bulk of sayings according to prevalent themes, structures, and performativity to propose major outlines of the development of these sayings across time. There were three significant phases in the development of Sufi sayings: the first refers to the late second/eighth and early third/ninth centuries; the second to the fourth/tenth and fifth/eleventh centuries; and the third covers the period from the sixth/twelfth century onwards. Inspired by speech act theory and other theories on the performativity of language, I argue that Sufi sayings, including ecstatic utterances, were designated as social acts seeking to change the basics of religious consciousness.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080933
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Tags: #Islam #Sufism #History
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Primordial Human Nature (fiṭra)
By Ramon Harvey, Cambridge Muslim College
The concept of fiṭra (primordial human nature or natural disposition) plays an important role in Islamic theological anthropology. It is first and foremost a scriptural concept, being present both within the Qur’an (Q. 30:30) and the Hadith (especially the hadith ‘every child is born upon the fiṭra […]’). The primary sense of fiṭra is that the devotion to God characterizing the ethical monotheism of Islam is in some sense an inbuilt capacity or inclination of the human being. The key texts of Islamic scripture relate fiṭra to the purity in belief and practice associated with the Abrahamic legacy and the Prophet Muḥammad’s renewal thereof. Though the impact of early controversies concerning the divine decree can be felt in some of the related hadiths and their theological reception, the prophetic core is free from strong predestinationism. There is a significant dividing line in the Islamic theological tradition over whether to link the interpretation of fiṭra to a metaphysical primordial covenant between God and all human beings (usually connected to Qur’anic verse 7:172) or if emphasis is to be placed instead on human natural capacities within the world. In the former case, the human religious experience is fundamentally one of recall and return, whereas in the latter it is one of instinctual and intellectual realization. This difference in interpretation impacts the epistemic dimension of fiṭra, its role in knowing God and making moral valuations, as well as the way that it is framed within the social lives of Muslims.
Link: https://www.saet.ac.uk/Islam/PrimordialHumanNature
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Tags: #Islame #Quran #Fitra #Hadith
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Artificial Intelligence and Islamic Thought: Two Distinctive Challenges
By Shoaib Ahmed Malik, St Mary's University
The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has presented novel questions across various intellectual and theological landscapes. This article seeks to explore two distinctive challenges that AI poses to Islamic thought. First, it examines the potential role of AI in Islamic knowledge production and scholarship, questioning the feasibility of an AI-powered religious authority, the concept of the iMufti and techno-madhhabs, along with capabilities to contribute to the chains of transmission and issue religious edicts (fatāwā). The second challenge delves into the implications of AI on the Qur'ān's claim of linguistic inimitability (i'jāz), investigating whether an AI, when taught the complexities of Arabic and literary composition, could potentially meet the Qur'ān's challenge to produce a text of comparable stature, thus probing the foundational assertions of the Islamic worldview. The article provides preliminary reflections aimed at spurring further scholarly inquiry into the intersection of AI and Islamic thought.
Link: https://doi.org/10.2979/jims.00020
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Tags: #Islam #AI #Quran
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Hermeneutical Systematic Dimensions of the Debate on God as Timeless and/or Temporal
By Adriani Milli Rodrigues, Andrews University
While the debate on God’s eternity as timeless and/or temporal is a fascinating topic in itself, especially in philosophical theology, the discussion of time and temporality has a hermeneutical systematic potential for the articulation of Christian theology. In this article, I explore the hermeneutical systematic dimensions of time and timelessness for Christian theology in Augustine’s Confessions (Book XI) in dialogue with contemporary articulations of divine timelessness and temporality, as delineated by Allan Padgett and William Craig. The study identifies how timelessness and temporality are hermeneutically and systematically shaped and serve as presuppositions for related concepts in anthropological and cosmological approaches that inform different views about the relationship of God with His creatures.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080888
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Tags: #Time #God #Theology #Creation
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Divine Simplicity, Divine Relations, and the Problem of Robust Persons
By Ronnie Campbell, Liberty University
In this paper, I aim to defend a robust concept of “person” as it relates to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. I begin by situating the debate in the current context between Social Trinitarianism (ST) and Latin Trinitarianism (LT) and then zero in on Thomas Aquinas’s view of the divine Persons as subsistent relations. I will argue that such an understanding of divine Persons has two significant difficulties. First, Aquinas’s view of a strong doctrine of divine simplicity is susceptible to modal collapse. For on such a view, there are no real distinctions within God; such distinctions are conceptually only. If there are no real distinctions within God, then how can we make sense of the eternal relations within God? Second, I question whether a relation can be equated with a Person. After all, relations do not know things, perform actions, or love in the way Scripture portrays the divine Persons. I will then offer a constructive and more robust view of the divine Person—one that aligns with the control of Scripture. In doing so, I consider two objections, one centering on whether defenders of ST fall into tri-theism and the other on whether divine Persons can indeed work together.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15070874
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Tags: #Religion #God #Theism #Aquinas
