𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

31 August 2026 08:34

☐ ⬛

The Judeo-Islamic God

By Jeffry R. Halverson, Coastal Carolina University

This article discusses the concept of the Judeo-Islamic God as a substantive and defensible alternative to the problematic concept of the “Judeo-Christian God” in popular, political, and academic Western discourses. It argues that the transcendent monotheistic deity of Islam, Allāh, is a direct continuation of the composite deity of Rabbinic Judaism, El-Yahweh. By discussing the presence of Jews in ancient Arabia, this article analyzes how Jewish beliefs and traditions shaped early and formative Muslim conceptions of God. As a result, readers are urged to reflect on why the Judeo-Islamic God is not a normative term in religious studies and to question the motivations behind the popular use of the term “Judeo-Christian God” in its stead.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/muwo.70034

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Tags: #IslamicTheology #JewishStudies #ComparativeReligion #Monotheism #JudaismAndIslam

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

31 August 2026 08:29

☐ ⬛

The Words of Jesus and Scriptural Hermeneutics in the Qur’an

By Zishan Ghaffar, Paderborn University

This article examines the most frequently attributed statement of Jesus in the Qur’an, namely, ‘God is my Lord and your Lord’ (Q 19:36; Q 43:64; Q 3:51; Q 5:72; Q 5:117). It investigates the extent to which this formula is connected to Jesus’s words to Mary Magdalene on Easter morning in John 20:17. The analysis aims to show that the Qur’an critically engages with the Christian interpretive tradition surrounding this statement as recorded in John’s Gospel and adapts it – both contextually and verbally – within its own theological framework. As in the Christian tradition, this Qur’anic engagement also generates a broader discourse on the hermeneutics of scriptural interpretation.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09596410.2026.2705056

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Tags: #QuranicStudies #JesusInIslam #BiblicalHermeneutics #QuranAndBible #ComparativeTheology

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

31 August 2026 08:24

☐ ⬛

Spiritual Affect and Spatial Experience: Vernacular and Generic Architecture Through Sufi Ḥāl Concepts

By Evşen Yetim, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University; Derya Elmalı Şen, Karadeniz Technical University

This study examines the emotional and spiritual orientations that emerge through the in-situ experience of vernacular and generic architectural spaces and investigates whether these orientations can be interpreted theologically through the ḥāl concepts of the Sufi tradition. A concurrent embedded mixed-methods design was employed with 24 architecture students who experienced both settings in Çamlıhemşin, Rize province, northeastern Türkiye. Following each spatial experience, semi-structured interviews were conducted, and a nine-dimensional semantic differential instrument, developed through the systematic mapping of ḥāl concepts onto psychological emotion categories, was administered. The quantitative data were analyzed using a three-way repeated-measures ANOVA, and the qualitative data through content analysis. The findings indicate that the vernacular experience is associated with markedly stronger and more positive spiritual-emotional orientations than the generic experience across all dimensions and spatial conditions. In the qualitative analysis, spiritual feeling emerged as a prominent theme in the vernacular experience without any religious practice, whereas spiritual indifference was the dominant theme in the generic experience. Overall, the study reveals that architectural space is a context capable of carrying spiritually differentiated orientations, and that Sufi ḥāl concepts offer a productive hermeneutic framework for the theological interpretation of the spatial effect of nature-integrated vernacular architecture.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17080916

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Tags: #Sufism #IslamicSpirituality #Architecture #SpiritualExperience #IslamicAesthetics

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

01 August 2026 11:47

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The Problem of Conjunctive Propositions in Avicennian Logic

By Hamid Alaeinejad, Iranian Institute of Philosophy; Seyed Moein Doostaninejad, The University of Manchester

This study examines the absence of conjunctive propositions in Avicennian logic, demonstrating that this exclusion is a principled outcome of the system’s criterion of unitary judgment (ḥukm wāḥid). In Avicennian classification, genuine propositions are defined by a determinate relation (nisba) that constitutes the object of judgment. Conjunctive compounds, by contrast, combine multiple independent assertions without establishing a single judgment and therefore cannot constitute a formal propositional type. Through an analysis of categorical, connective conditional, and disjunctive conditional propositions, and a critical review of historical and contemporary interpretations, the study shows that the system is internally consistent and philosophically coherent. Conjunctive expressions in Avicennian works serve primarily as linguistic devices to clarify meaning or illustrate contradictions, not as independent propositions. The findings clarify common misunderstandings arising from applying modern propositional logic to Avicennian texts and affirm that the absence of conjunction does not compromise the comprehensiveness of the classification. Rather, it reflects a deliberate and justified philosophical principle, ensuring that propositions remain unitary and their judgments determinate.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01445340.2026.2695570

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Tags: #Avicenna #IslamicLogic #HistoryOfLogic #IslamicPhilosophy #Logic

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

01 August 2026 11:41

⬜⬛

Attachment to God Across Religions: Fathers and Mothers Matter Differently in Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism

By Alicia McLean, University of Central Oklahoma; Sarah Amin, University of Central Oklahoma; Raksha Poojar, Karnatak University Dharwad; Shanmukh V. Kamble, Karnatak University Dharwad

This study examined how attachment to parents influences attachment to God across Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Grounded in attachment theory and extending prior work on parental correspondence, participants from the United States and India completed measures of attachment to mothers, fathers, and God. Consistent with the correspondence hypothesis, parental attachment patterns mirrored attachment to God. For Christian participants, both avoidance and anxiety toward fathers predicted attachment to God, reflecting Christianity’s paternal conception of the divine. For Muslim participants, both avoidance and anxiety toward mothers predicted attachment to God, consistent with the maternal role in transmitting Islamic faith. Among Hindu participants, avoidance toward mothers predicted avoidance toward God, and anxiety toward both parents predicted anxiety toward God, reflecting the balance of masculine and feminine divine representations in Hinduism. These findings underscore cultural differences in spiritual attachment and highlight the importance of parental influences in understanding cross-religious variations in faith development.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17070853

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Tags: #PsychologyOfReligion #AttachmentTheory #ComparativeReligion #FaithDevelopment #ReligionAndPsychology

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

08 July 2026 05:27

⬜⬛

Zakat as a Market Regulator and Its Role in Economic Development

By Mehmet Salih Kumaş, Uludağ University; Fahriye Afacan, Uludağ University

Economic development persists as a global objective despite numerous hurdles. Attaining it requires implementing comprehensive strategies that involve collaboration between national and international organisations, as well as drawing on both orthodox and heterodox economic theories and schools of thought that can help to serve this purpose. This study posits that zakat, an essential form of devotion in Islam denoting the mandatory financial assistance affluent Muslims offer to the impoverished, can substantially enhance economic progress. In doing so, it examines the institution of zakat, not through the lens of its beneficiaries but rather through the lens of those who fall within the scope of the obligation to pay it. Such a perspective presents a contrast from previous scholarly examination of the relationship between zakat and economic development. The main objective of this study is to demonstrate that zakat functions primarily as an economic policy aimed at decreasing investment preferences and savings that are detrimental to social welfare and economic growth, in addition to serving the secondary function of acting as a redistributive tool. In this regard, the study contends that zakat can inspire contemporary economists and politicians to formulate innovative economic policies and tax models aimed at fostering economic development.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17070812

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Tags: #Zakat #IslamicEconomics #EconomicDevelopment #IslamicFinance #MoralEconomy

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

08 July 2026 05:24

⬜⬛

Recursive Intelligibility: An Argument for Classical Theism

By John Alton Christmann, Independent Scholar

This paper develops an argument for classical theism from what I call recursive intelligibility, which is the open-ended, convergently unifying, and domain transcendent applicability of mathematics to the structure of physical reality. The argument first distinguishes local intelligibility, or the cognitive-reality alignment that evolutionary selection plausibly explains, from the global and recursive intelligibility at issue, namely the continuing success of abstract mathematical structures in domains maximally remote from evolutionary relevance. Cases such as the later physical applicability of Riemannian geometry, complex analysis, and Lie group theory exhibit a form of intelligibility that extends well beyond what the evolutionary byproduct story straightforwardly predicts. I argue that classical theism, specifically the logos tradition on which reality reflects a rational source, generates a genuine expectation of recursive intelligibility, whereas evolutionary naturalism predicts only local intelligibility and faces explanatory difficulties with domain-transcendence, convergent unification, and the apparent absence of an intelligibility horizon. I distinguish the position from fine-tuning arguments, Plantinga’s evolutionary argument against naturalism, and from standard formulations of the argument from reason, and answer objections from anthropic reasoning, instrumentalist accounts of mathematics, the missing base rate of applicable mathematics, and Tegmark’s mathematical universe hypothesis. My conclusion is that recursive intelligibility is more probable given classical theism than given evolutionary naturalism.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11153-026-10021-9

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Tags: #ClassicalTheism #PhilosophyOfReligion #PhilosophyOfMathematics #Metaphysics #Naturalism

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

08 July 2026 05:19

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Transhumanism from the Perspective of Classical Islamic Philosophical Ethics (CIPE)

By Rıza Tevfik Kalyoncu, Adnan Menderes University

This paper investigates two central themes of contemporary transhumanism—human enhancement and artificial intelligence—from the perspective of Classical Islamic Philosophical Ethics (CIPE). First, it reconstructs the metaphysical framework and ethical orientation of CIPE through an analysis of its major representatives. Second, it examines the concept of enhancement in transhumanist thought in light of the metaphysical assumptions and ethical principles of this tradition. The analysis argues that although transhumanist enhancement theory generates significant tensions with classical philosophical conceptions of human nature, it can nevertheless be interpreted as compatible with certain premises of CIPE when understood within a broader framework of human perfection, intellectual development, and the harmony of body and soul. Building on this discussion, the paper further argues that CIPE offers valuable insights into contemporary debates concerning the topics of enhancement and artificial intelligence. In particular, it highlights the importance of harmony, integrity, and the reinterpretation of traditional philosophical concepts in response to emerging technological challenges. Overall, the paper seeks to contribute to discussions on transhumanism from within the Islamic intellectual tradition. It also aims to demonstrate the possibility of a middle path between the rejection of transhumanism on the basis of classical philosophy and its uncritical acceptance, thereby opening new avenues for dialogue between ancient philosophical traditions and contemporary technological developments.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17070787

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Tags: #Transhumanism #IslamicPhilosophy #AI #Ethics #ClassicalIslam

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

08 July 2026 05:16

⬜⬛

Does Science Reveal the Truth Behind Near-Death Experiences?: A Methodological Enquiry

By Ahmadreza Nourmohammadi & S. M. Hasan A. Shirazi, Shahid Beheshti University

The term ‘near-death experience’ (NDE) refers to particular encounters reported by individuals who have been revived from the brink of death. The narratives provided by such individuals exhibit a core set of characteristics that are consistent across diverse populations. Although this suggests that NDEs may offer valuable insights into our understanding of the world, many scientists hold the view that NDEs do not provide genuine insight into reality. What underlies this scepticism? Two answers might be given. Either they question the authenticity of these experiences, or they contend that there is nothing theoretically new that remains for which NDEs are evidence. In this paper, we argue that none of them has been the case. We initially demonstrate that these phenomena meet the standards that science typically considers essential for being an explanandum. For the rest, the philosophy of science can offer valuable assistance. According to the version of scientific realism proposed by Lipton and Bird, unless we have the best explanation of an explanandum, we fail to understand it. Therefore, our task is to scrutinize the proclaimed scientific theories explaining NDEs and see if any of them is the best. To this aim, after explicating Bird’s and Lipton’s criteria of the best explanation, we show that none of the explanations put forth in the literature satisfy the criteria. This shows that science can claim neither to be explaining NDEs nor understanding them. This diagnosis also leads to an important philosophical result. As science fails in explaining and understanding NDEs, we remain unjustified in describing them within scientific metaphysics. That being the case, metaphysical debates in this particular field remain within ordinary philosophy.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.53765/20512201.33.5.105

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Tags: #NearDeathExperiences #PhilosophyOfScience #Consciousness #ScientificRealism #Metaphysics

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

29 June 2026 04:06

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How Theists Can Answer the “Why Be Moral?” Question: An Indirect Reason-Generation Account

By Justin Morton, University of Texas

In this paper, I give a new type of theistic answer to the “Why be moral?” question. After briefly clarifying the version of the question I’m concerned with, as well as extant theistic answers to the question, I argue for a new kind of answer. Roughly, while on standard answers, future (post death) benefits directly generate present reason to be moral, on my view, they only do so indirectly. On my view, we only have present reason to be moral because we will have reason to be moral in the afterlife. I propose a principle of reason inheritance that would justify this proposal. I also argue for my view, over the standard view: it alone can account for Prichard’s Dilemma. Finally, I show how my proposal entails two interesting theses: a bodily eschaton and a loose type of purgatory.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/phib.70015

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Tags: #Ethics #PhilosophyOfReligion #Theism #MoralPhilosophy #Afterlife

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

29 June 2026 03:58

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Beyond Rote Learning: A Scoping Review of the Education-Related Effects of Quran Memorisation

By Muhammad Fakhruddin Al-Razi, Universitas Negeri Surabaya Fitri Kusumasari, Universidade Dili

As modern education trends emphasise deep understanding, critical thinking, and creativity, there is a need to re-evaluate the practice of memorising the Quran, which is increasingly being questioned. This article engages with this discourse by conducting a scoping review of empirical studies regarding the education-related effects of Quran memorisation. Following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, 36 empirical studies were identified and analysed. The findings indicate that Quran memorisation may best be conceptualised as a multifaceted educational phenomenon, with outcomes clustered into three key themes: cognitive enhancement and potential neuroplasticity, academic achievement, and psychospiritual character development. Framed within the liturgical literacy and neurobiological lens, these results suggest that Quran memorisation functions as embodied cognition and as a stimulation for synaptic connectivity rather than passive repetition. Furthermore, the review highlights a dominance of studies from the Indo-Malay region and a prevalence of quantitative observational designs. The article concludes that while the current mapping offers a positive outlook on the pedagogical value of memorisation, future research requires more rigorous experimental designs and broader geographical contexts to further substantiate these findings.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2026.2688399

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Tags: #QuranMemorisation #IslamicEducation #CognitiveScience #Neuroplasticity #EducationalResearch

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

29 June 2026 03:43

⬜⬛

Kalām, Humans and AI: Reason(ing), Creation/Creativity, and Agency

By Nidhal Guessoum, American University of Sharjah

Artificial intelligence, particularly after the recent explosive advances and widened uses, has fired up the (previously quiet) debates about the nature of reasoning, creativity, and agency. This paper examines these issues through the lens of classical kalām (Islamic theology), with some focus on Muʿtazilite principles. It begins by presenting a concise overview of the major schools of kalām (Muʿtazilism, Ashʿarism, and Māturīdism), highlighting their respective treatments of reason (ʿaql), divine creation, and human action. Then a brief review of modes of reasoning is provided, shedding light on differences between human and artificial reasoning, stressing the distinction between statistically generated outputs and contextually grounded, meaning-oriented cognition. Then, drawing on Muʿtazilite conceptions of reason, objective morality, and true human agency, in particular, the paper argues that contemporary AI systems, despite their impressive capabilities, do not satisfy the conditions for knowledge (ʿilm), creation (khalq), or agency (fiʿl) in the theological sense. It is argued that although they may appear “creative” or displaying origination (ihdāth) capabilities, AI systems, so far and to the extent that current developments seem to indicate, lack the essential features of ʿaql (reason), nafs (soul), rūḥ (spirit), and niyyah (intention) that Islamic theology identifies as the true, defining aspects of human beings.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17060703

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Tags: #IslamicTheology #Kalam #ArtificialIntelligence #Muʿtazilism #AIEthics

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

27 June 2026 09:35

⬜⬛

God and the Problem of Scepticism

By J. L. Aijian, Biola University

Contemporary debates about faith and scepticism are best understood by tracing the development of our current assumptions back to their historical roots. Scepticism, particularly in the west, has its foundation in Socrates’ famous claim that his knowledge of his own ignorance made him the wisest of men. Socrates’ intellectual humility was then translated into the Christian philosophical tradition, where it came into contact with the doctrines of divine revelation and original sin. This Element will select key historical figures to illustrate the impact that belief in God has had on how we assess the claims of scepticism, and on how scepticism impacts belief in God.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009709484

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Tags: #PhilosophyOfReligion #Scepticism #Epistemology #ChristianPhilosophy #Faith

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

27 June 2026 09:28

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Craig’s Kalam Cosmological Argument and the Cosmic Bomb Hypothesis

By Erik J. Wielenberg, DePauw University

I examine the premises of William Craig’s influential Kalam Cosmological Argument (KCA). I show that once those premises are properly understood, they can be seen to be compatible with an atheistic account according to which the universe emerged spontaneously from non-personal timeless stuff. The plausibility of such a timeless stuff scenario undermines Craig’s claim that the KCA shows that the universe was created ex nihilo by God. This is a previously unrecognized weakness of Craig’s KCA.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37977/faithphil.2026.42.2.7

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Tags: #KalamCosmologicalArgument #PhilosophyOfReligion #Atheism #Cosmology #WilliamLaneCraig

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

27 June 2026 09:23

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The Metaphysical Transformation of Divine Infinity: From the Transcendent Infinite Being to the Plane of Immanence

By Muxiang Yan and Guangyao Wang, Soochow University

This article examines how divine infinity in Western metaphysics is re-specified through transformations in the concept of ground. Traditional metaphysics usually understands God as the first principle of the world. Yet God can function as ground not merely because He is the first cause, but because He is understood as a being that in some manner exceeds finite beings. We argue that the meaning of divine infinity depends on how God is understood as ground. To show this, the article focuses on three philosophers, Scotus, Spinoza, and Deleuze, and traces the changing forms of divine infinity across three decisive stages. First, in Scotus, God is still understood as an infinite being transcending finite creatures, yet through the univocity of being, God and finite beings enter a common conceptual field. Second, in Spinoza, God no longer appears primarily as an infinite being transcending finite beings, but is determined as absolutely infinite substance and infinite power; correspondingly, ground is no longer the first being external to nature, but becomes a productive cause immanent to nature. Finally, in Deleuze, ground is no longer borne by any substance, but is understood as the plane of immanence constituted by relations of difference and intensity; divine infinity accordingly no longer appears as a property of some ultimate being, but is transformed into the plane’s own self-sufficiency and lack of exteriority. On this basis, the article argues that modern ontology is not a simple break with the theological tradition, but rather effects within theological problems themselves a metaphysical transformation of divine infinity: as the structure of ground changes, the relations between God and world, and between the infinite and the finite, are continually rewritten.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17060685

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Tags: #Metaphysics #DivineInfinity #Spinoza #Deleuze #Philosophy

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

31 August 2026 08:31

☐ ⬛

The Big Picture: Religion and Global Comparative History

By Alan Strathern, University of Oxford

This article considers what a ‘big picture’ approach to global religious history might look like, and in particular the implications of deploying the comparative method across much larger stretches of time and space than historians normally attend to. It will begin by reflecting on the epistemological moods that have hindered this project to date, the problem of the very question of defining ‘religion’ and the recent development of Globale Religionsgeschichte. A truly longue durée endure global history of religion will need organising problems, and there are at least two: how were innumerable religious systems eaten up by a handful of world religions? And how might religion ever have ceded the centre-ground of social and political life? After briefly referring to the way in which the author has sought to answer the first question through the model of immanentism-transcendentalism, it is suggested that attending to the big picture will necessarily involve genuine dialogue with anthropology, historical sociology and cognitive science. Among the many problems of conceptualisation raised by this perspective is the question of how to understand macro-cultural regions or ‘civilizations.’ Lastly the question of modernity and secularisation theory is briefly addressed in a final section

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9809.70110

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Tags: #ComparativeReligion #GlobalHistory #ReligiousHistory #Secularisation #Civilizations

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

31 August 2026 08:26

☐ ⬛

Dialogue Between Christian Mission and Islamic Da’wah

By Jaeho Chung, Pontifical Urbaniana University

The central objective of this study is to demonstrate the possibility of constructive dialogue between Christianity and Islam through a comparative examination of two concepts closely related to the transmission and expansion of religious faith: mission and da’wah. Although both terms refer fundamentally to the communication of one’s faith to others—and may, therefore, appear to be associated with a logic of competition between religions—each also contains an intrinsic dimension of respect for the other. This dimension becomes particularly evident when their authentic meaning is understood not in terms of coercion or violence, but as a form of witness expressed through one’s way of life. Moreover, these concepts should not be interpreted solely as activities directed toward those outside the religious community. They also function as dynamics addressed to the believing community and to the individual believers themselves, with the purpose of deepening, renewing, and revitalizing faith. In this sense, the Christian notion of first proclamation—understood qualitatively as a renewed encounter with the Gospel—and the Islamic understanding of da’wah directed to the umma as a call to spiritual conversion reveal a significant point of convergence. This shared perspective may, therefore, provide an important foundation for constructive dialogue between the two religious traditions.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17080932

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Tags: #ChristianMission #IslamicDawah #InterfaithDialogue #ChristianityAndIslam #ComparativeReligion

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

01 August 2026 11:49

⬜⬛

Ibn ‘Arabī and Evolution

By Ismail Lala, Gulf University of Science and Technology

In the mystical outlook of the influential Sufi thinker Muḥyī al-Dīn ibn ‘Arabī (d. 638/1240) macro-evolution would be ruled out because the fixed essences (a‘yān thābita) in the spiritual realm that are the metaphysical bases of species in the sensible world are immutable, irrespective of how much variation occurs in the physical instantiations of those fixed essences in the sensible world. Human evolution is even more vehemently denied because the fixed essence of humans is ontologically distinct from all other creatures as they have the capacity to manifest all the divine Names, something that no other creature can do.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2026.2684050

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Tags: #IbnArabi #Evolution #IslamicPhilosophy #Sufism #ReligionAndScience

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

01 August 2026 11:44

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The Magic of the Babylonians in Islam: Discussion in the Context of al-Baqara 2:102

By Mahir Apak, Bursa Uludağ University; Ulvi Murat Kılavuz, Bursa Uludağ University

Magic (siḥr) has constituted a significant point of theological, exegetical, and legal discussion within Islam. Although the Qurʾān refers to magic and related phenomena in several contexts, Q 2:102 has become the central locus of debate because of its references to Babylon, Solomon, the devils, and the two figures Hārūt and Mārūt. This article examines the debates surrounding Q 2:102 by situating the verse against the background of Babylonian magical culture and by tracing its reception in tafsīr, kalām, fiqh, and later Islamic cultural materials. It argues that discussions surrounding Babylonian magic do not merely preserve a collection of disagreements; rather, they reveal how different Islamic disciplines classified, restricted, and interpreted magic in accordance with their own epistemological and theological concerns. In tafsīr, the verse generated debates over the occasion of revelation, lexical interpretation, variant readings, and the identity of Hārūt and Mārūt. In kalām, the same verse became connected to divine permission, God’s creative act, causality, the reality of magic, the distinction between magic and miracle, and the impeccability of angels. In fiqh, it raised questions concerning the legal ruling on magic and the punishment of the magician. The study further shows that reports concerning Hārūt and Mārūt were often treated as Isrāʾīliyyāt and rejected as lacking creedal value, even as they continued to circulate in the Islamic literature and art. The article concludes that Q 2:102 functioned as a meeting point where Islamic disciplines negotiated the boundaries between revelation, transmitted reports, theology, law, and cultural imagination.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17080876

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Tags: #QuranicStudies #Tafsir #Kalam #IslamicTheology #MagicInIslam

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

01 August 2026 11:38

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Is Gender a Divine Attribute?

By Noah Hahn, Concordia University

Michael Rea offers several objections to the traditional view that it is more accurate to characterize God as masculine than as feminine. The objections depend on several premises drawn from perfect being theology and the doctrine of the image of God. They amount to a cumulative argument that (roughly) if God is accurately described as predominantly masculine, then either women are inferior to men (because masculinity would be a great-making property) or women are not made in God’s image (as the imago Dei doctrine teaches). I argue that Rea’s arguments fail, and that divine masculinity would not entail the inferiority of women. In fact, in at least one sense, it might entail the inferiority of men. I do not thereby argue that traditionalism is right, only that Rea’s argument does not overturn it. I close with some suggestions for the future of gendered natural theology that may escape the problems I raise for Rea’s approach.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11153-026-10009-5

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Tags: #PhilosophyOfReligion #DivineAttributes #PerfectBeingTheism #NaturalTheology #Gender

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

08 July 2026 05:25

⬜⬛

Terminological Drift and the Reordering of Knowledge from Al-Ghazali’s Perspective

By Ahmad Faizuddin Ramli, The National University of Malaysia; Zulkiflee Haron, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia; Ramli Awang, Independent Scholar, Malaysia

This article examines al-Ghazali’s (d. 505/1111) critique of terminological distortion in the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) as a diagnosis of epistemological disorder within the Islamic sciences. It argues that al-Ghazali understood semantic contraction not merely as a linguistic shift or rhetorical concern, but as a process that reshaped the hierarchy of knowledge, scholarly prestige, and the spiritual telos of learning. Focusing on five interrelated terms – fiqh (jurisprudence), ʿilm (knowledge), tawḥīd (the Oneness of God), dhikr/tadhkīr (remembrance/admonition), and ḥikmah (wisdom), the study traces a recurring pattern in which originally expansive concepts became narrowed through disciplinary capture, performative usage, or reduced doctrinal formulation. Methodologically, the article combines qualitative content analysis with close textual reading of the Kitāb al-ʿIlm (Book of Knowledge) and related passages in the Iḥyāʾ. It maintains interpretive discipline through repeated re-reading of chapters, cross-checking individual passages against the architecture of the Kitāb al-ʿIlm, and limiting claims to meanings explicitly supported by the text. The article concludes that al-Ghazali’s reflections on terminology are best understood as part of a wider sociology of the Islamic sciences, in which the governance of key terms helped order scholarly status, regulate authoritative knowledge, and shape the social life of learning in the Islamic Golden Age.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55831/ajis.v11i4.1351

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Tags: #AlGhazali #IslamicStudies #Epistemology #IslamicPhilosophy #HistoryOfIdeas

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

08 July 2026 05:22

⬜⬛

Gappy Alternative to Perfect Being Theism

By Jeremiah Joven Joaquin, De La Salle University & Michael DeVito, University of Maine

Recent philosophical work on perfect being theism has witnessed the emergence of a gappy view of God, according to which God’s divine essence gives rise to truth-value gaps. In this paper, we discuss what this gappy view entails and demonstrate how it constitutes an alternative unified solution to the omniproblems associated with traditional monotheism.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.70117

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Tags: #PhilosophyOfReligion #PerfectBeingTheism #AnalyticTheology #Metaphysics #Logic

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

08 July 2026 05:17

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The Influence of the Companions’ Understanding of Religion on the Transmission of Hadith: The Case of the “Amara” Form

By Mutlu Gül, Bursa Uludağ University & Muhammet Divani, Presidency of Religious Affairs (Türkiye)

In this article, we aim to examine the companions’ understanding of religion, as well as the transformations it underwent in later periods, by analyzing hadiths transmitted through the verbal form “amara” (he commanded), used when reporting the statements of the Prophet, and those conveyed in the passive form “umirnā” (we were commanded). The companions (sahāba) are regarded as the most distinguished among Muslims for their proper understanding and implementation of Islam, as they directly witnessed the revelation of the Qur’anic verses and the occasions when the hadiths were uttered. For this reason, their understanding of religion and their religious practices have been highly valued by subsequent generations, to the extent that the concept of qawl al-ṣaḥābī (the statement of a companion) has even been considered a source of religion. In this study, the subject will be addressed through selected examples drawn from al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaḥīḥ of al-Bukhārī, widely regarded as containing the most authentic hadiths. We will attempt to demonstrate that the Prophet’s commands and recommendations concerning various domains, such as acts of worship, social ethics, and public order, are predominantly transmitted through the verbal form “amara”, and that in narrating these reports, the companions prioritized and intended moral encouragement and guidance rather than a strictly normative purpose. Accordingly, the study approaches transmission forms not merely as technical means of narration, but also as meaningful structures that carry the companions’ understanding of religion. In this way, it seeks to reveal the perspectives from which the companions approached the commands and recommendations of the Prophet.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17070777

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Tags: #Hadith #Sahaba #IslamicStudies #HadithTransmission #Bukhari

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

29 June 2026 04:08

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The Vocabulary of the Qurʾān and Multilingualism in Arabia

By Orhan Elmaz, University of St Andrews

This article examines five Qurʾānic lexical items, surādiq (Q 18:29), qiṭṭ (Q 38:16), ḥiṭṭah (Q 2:58; 7:161), fūm (Q 2:61), and yaqṭīn (Q 37:146), through a theoretical framework that combines multilingualism in Arabia before Islam with muqārana, understood as comparative philological practice. Rather than simply asking whether each word is Arabic or foreign, the article evaluates each case through Qurʾānic context, Arabic morphology and lexicography, phonotactic markedness, comparative Semitic, Iranian, and Mediterranean evidence, variant readings (qirāʾāt), and early exegetical reception (tafsīr). Surādiq illustrates Iranian–Aramaic mediation in eschatological imagery; qiṭṭ and ḥiṭṭah show how documentary and religious-formulaic semantics may preserve older Semitic contact strata; fūm demonstrates how a Qurʾānic food term can be pulled between an archaic Arabic grain/bread meaning, non-canonical reading tradition, and harmonisation via Biblical comparison; and yaqṭīn functions as a control case against the over-identification of borrowings. The article argues that Qurʾānic vocabulary is best studied as multilingual lexical memory: a field in which etymology and exegesis interact without collapsing into a binary opposition between Arabic and foreign vocabulary.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17070759

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Tags: #Quran #Philology #Multilingualism #QuranicStudies #SemiticLanguages

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

29 June 2026 04:00

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Nature’s Complexity Alive: Farewell to Several Unificatory Cosmological Arguments for Monism

By Lok-Chi Chan, National Taiwan University

Throughout history, numerous thinkers have claimed that monism, in the form of priority monism, existence monism, monotheistic monism, or versions that posit an extra-cosmic ultimate being, theoretically surpasses pluralism, above all by positing a unified universe. This view re-emerges in recent metaphysics through what I call cosmological arguments from parsimony (CAPs) and cosmological arguments from relations (CARs). According to CAPs, monism is more ontologically parsimonious than pluralism because it posits only one fundamental entity. According to CARs, the single fundamental object in monism serves as a required metaphysical explanans for how things in the universe can form certain relations with each other. I argue that this longstanding tradition of arguments spanning Neoplatonism, early and late modern philosophy, analytic philosophy, and even some Eastern traditions fails: monistic frameworks largely fail to reduce the universe’s ontological complexity as alleged, and the remaining ones fail to show any theoretical advantage over pluralism for related reasons. Drawing on the broader materialist tradition, the article also offers a positive case for several theoretical merits of pluralism and ends with a takeaway concerning how best to inquire into the universe’s unity.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nous.70051

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Tags: #Metaphysics #Monism #Pluralism #Cosmology #Philosophy

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

29 June 2026 03:48

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Life, but Not as We Know It: Why Fine-Tuning Arguments Fail

By Joe Gough, University of Oxford

Definitions of “life” and theories of life are systematically neglected in arguments for and from fine-tuning. Despite claims to be neutral about the definition of “life,” fine-tuning arguments generally presuppose that life requires a form of structural complexity only afforded by physicochemical complexity of the sort with which we are familiar, and more specifically, by water and carbon molecules. Conversely, our best accounts of life construe life as a matter of dynamic rather than structural complexity, and as substrate- and scale-independent. Life could be as radically different in the possible universes considered as their physics is. We have no idea whether the relevant form of dynamic complexity would develop in possible universes radically physically unlike our own.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nous.70052

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Tags: #FineTuning #PhilosophyOfReligion #PhilosophyOfScience #Cosmology #Life

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

27 June 2026 09:36

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Imagining God

By Kathryn A. Johnson, Arizona State University

Introduces the topic of God representations in monotheistic traditions. Section 2 examines belief in the authoritarian (e.g., controlling and punishing) and benevolent (e.g., helping and forgiving) attributes of God as a person-like being. The discussion is expanded in Section 3 to include abstract representations (e.g., the Universe, Nature, and negative theology). Section 4 describes measures used to assess people’s beliefs about God and presents survey data of group differences in beliefs about God as authoritarian and benevolent. Section 5 addresses the under-studied question: where is God? Representations of God do not exist in a vacuum, and Section 6 explores the cognitive building blocks, life circumstances, worldviews, and personal motivations that can inform diverse God representations. Finally, Section 7 concludes with an overview of some of the antecedents and outcomes of God representations surveyed in this Element and how they relate to various ways of thinking about, relating to, and imagining God.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009527842

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Tags: #PsychologyOfReligion #GodConcept #CognitiveScience #Monotheism #ReligiousBelief

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

27 June 2026 09:34

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The hierarchical grounding argument for a necessary being: from contingency to divine attributes

By Nidhal Mghirbi, Independent Researcher

We present a modal argument for a necessary being that distinguishes hierarchical grounding relations to address traditional objections to cosmological proofs. By separating intra-temporal grounding (dependencies within temporal order) from ultimate grounding (atemporal existential foundation), we demonstrate that contingent reality requires necessary grounding even if temporal causal chains extend infinitely. Employing S5 modal logic under an actualist interpretation, we prove that well-founded grounding hierarchies terminate in a unique necessary being, whose necessity is established through an exhaustive modal dichotomy applied to the actual terminus of the hierarchy. This being possesses traditional divine attributes including simplicity, immateriality, timelessness, and causal maximality, derived deductively from necessary existence together with the explanatory requirements of ultimate grounding. Our hierarchical framework resolves objections from quantum indeterminacy, eternal cosmologies, and self-sustaining systems while addressing Kantian concerns about applying causation beyond temporal domains. The argument establishes that metaphysical analysis of contingency structures necessarily entails a timeless foundation transcending the natural order.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11153-026-10020-y

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Tags: #PhilosophyOfReligion #CosmologicalArgument #Metaphysics #Grounding #NecessaryBeing

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

27 June 2026 09:26

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The near miss modal ontological argument for atheism

By D. Gene Witmer & Micah Edvenson, University of Florida

The argument for atheism from the problem of evil can be strengthened by taking advantage of the traditional view that God’s existence, if possible, is necessary. Given that, if there is just one possible world in which there are evils that cannot be reconciled with God’s existence, God does not exist in any world. This argument has been tried before, but the major obstacle it faces is that in appealing to situations much worse than any in the actual world, the genuine possibility of the imagined situations might reasonably be called into question. We argue that this obstacle can be overcome by considering a couple of “near misses”: situations that seem obviously possible because they nearly happened. We identify two such situations and defend two critical claims. The first is that, absent any independent warrant for theism, there is excellent reason to believe these situations are genuinely possible. The second is that in the worlds thus delineated, there are evils that cannot be excused by any plausible theodicy. Call this the argument from possible inexcusable evil. Our main thesis is the modest one that absent independent warrant for theism, the argument from possible inexcusable evil is a cogent argument for atheism. Further, however, we suggest that a stronger thesis may be warranted, since the way the argument works may well block independent evidence for theism, at least, independent evidence of the sort that is especially relevant in the context of disputes over the significance of evil.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11153-026-10018-4

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Tags: #PhilosophyOfReligion #Atheism #ProblemOfEvil #ModalLogic #Ontology

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

27 June 2026 09:21

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The Metaphysics of Fasting

By Ismail Lala, Gulf University for Science & Technology

This study investigates the metaphysics of fasting according to the hugely influential mystic Muhyi al-Din ibn ‘Arabi (d. 638/1240). Ibn ‘Arabi argues that fasting holds an unparalleled position in ritual worship. While his predecessor Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 505/1111) in his magnum opus—The revival of the religious sciences (Ihya’ ‘ulum al-din)—addresses the ethical dimension of fasting, Ibn ‘Arabi’s concern is the metaphysical reality of it. There are six principal reasons Ibn ‘Arabi gives for fasting being superior to other forms of worship, all of which revolve around fasting’s uniqueness that adverts to the uniqueness of God: (1) Fasting is elevated because God has connected it to Himself in prophetic traditions. All other acts of worship are connected to humans. Fasting is thus elevated from the servant to God. (2) Fasting is not an action like other forms of worship; it is an inaction since it entails refraining from eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse. This makes its essence incomprehensible as it is not an entity but the lack of one. The incomprehensibility of the essential inaction of fasting connects it to the incomprehensibility of God. (3) Fasting, insofar as it displays independence from food, drink, and sexual intercourse, mirrors the divine attribute of true independence from all things (samadaniyya). (4) Fasting is described as a shield (junna) in prophetic traditions because although it is not an action in itself, the state of fasting becomes a protection against evil actions. Awareness of God (taqwa), likewise, protects against evil actions. Thus, fasting is related to God as it begets awareness of God. (5) The breath of the person who fasts, though malodourous to humans, is said to be fragrant for God by Prophet Muhammad. This ‘fragrance’ is produced by the breath of the person who fasts, which adverts to the Breath of the Compassionate (nafas al-Rahman) that brings all things into existence according to Ibn ‘Arabi. (6) The people who fast shall enter heaven through the Gate of Rayyan (quenched thirst) as reported in prophetic traditions. Ibn ‘Arabi argues that the quenching of thirst represents an endpoint or ‘perfection’ (kamal) after which one does not require more drink. This ‘perfection’ (of satiation) mirrors God’s perfection. Fasting is the only form of worship that has a gate that alludes to its perfection, which demonstrates that it is unique. In all these ways, then, there is nothing like fasting, which connects it to God because there is nothing like God.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17060672

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Tags: #IbnArabi #IslamicMetaphysics #Fasting #IslamicPhilosophy #Spirituality