𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

02 May 2026 18:48

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Fine-Tuning Problems for Single-Universe Naturalists

By Akshay Gupta, Wake Forest University

The ‘fine-tuning’ of the universe has led many individuals to infer the existence of a designer, a multiverse, or something else that can account for it. Yet proponents of a view known as single-universe naturalism have certain responses they can make to block the inference from fine-tuning to a designer or multiverse. In this paper, I argue that these responses fail to block this inference. For instance, I raise and develop the uncertainty problem, which pertains to single-universe naturalists who deny that we can assign any probability to fine-tuning. I also argue that there are problems with other responses that single-universe naturalists can make to try to account for fine-tuning, such as the response that the universe’s constants are necessary or the response that there are no probabilistic mechanisms responsible for fine-tuning.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/mind/fzag015

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Tags: #Philosophy #PhilosophyOfReligion #Metaphysics #FineTuning #Atheism

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

02 May 2026 18:42

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Real Time as Ontological Choice: A Comparative Inquiry into Al-Ghazālī and Lee Smolin’s Temporal Models

By Adil Guler, Marmara University

This article develops a comparative metaphysical inquiry into real time through a dialogue structured by formal analogy between al-Ghazālī’s theology of continuous creation (tajdīd al-khalq) and Lee Smolin’s relational, law-evolving physics. Against both timeless determinism and accounts of becoming that deny any further ontological grounding, it argues that real time may be understood as a structured horizon of actualization in which openness is progressively articulated into determinate actuality under constraint. Employing a non-reductive method of formal analogy, the analysis maps shared problem-structures—discreteness, contingency, openness, and directionality—while foregrounding controlled disanalogies, especially the contrast between volitional grounding in al-Ghazālī and system-level, naturalistic actualization in Smolin. The article proposes three interpretive claims: (i) both frameworks may be read as relocating order within time rather than above it; (ii) the comparison brings into focus the philosophical problem of actualization, rather than mere succession, in accounts of real temporality; and (iii) stability and regularity are more plausibly understood as articulated within time than as timeless givens. The result is a layered account of temporal order in which volitional maintenance, ontological stabilization, and mathematical framing intersect, suggesting a way of viewing real time as ontologically significant and epistemically consequential within the present comparison.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies11030072

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Tags: #Philosophy #IslamicPhilosophy #Metaphysics #Time #ComparativePhilosophy

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

02 May 2026 18:38

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Orality, Liturgy, and Transcendence in Ḥafṣ Ibn Albar’s Kitāb al-Zabūr (889 CE)

By Jason Busic, Denison University

Perhaps the most well-known figure from among the Arabized Christians of al-Andalus, the theologian and scholar Ḥafṣ Ibn Albar of Cordoba (fl. late ninth/early tenth century CE) has attracted considerable scholarly attention. The work that has drawn the most attention, extant in its entirety, is Ibn Albar’s translation into the classical Arabic meter of rajaz of Jerome’s Latin Psalter, rendered from the Hebrew. Most scholars have focused on this text as a lens into Arabization and Islamization among Iberian Christians and the impact of acculturation on Christian doctrine. However, the relationship between poetic form and liturgical practice in Ibn Albar’s translation has received less attention. In the present article, I explore this relationship. I offer a close reading of Kitāb al-Zabūr in dialogue with its Vorlagen, the Old Hispanic liturgy, and Qurʾānic recitation. I argue that Ibn Albar’s translation exploits and amplifies the characteristic orality of its sources and communicates the Psalms principally as liturgical practice, ad intra and ad extra. I conclude that Ibn Albar’s Psalter reinforces Latin Christian tradition while also transcending it.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17050541

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Tags: #IslamicStudies #AlAndalus #Quran #Liturgy #TranslationStudies

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

29 April 2026 14:13

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Debating the Origins: The Sanctity of Madina in Ḥadīth Narratives

By Seyfeddin Kara, University of Groningen

This article analyses ḥadīth narratives about the sanctification of Madina, using the isnād-cum-matn analysis pioneered by the late Harald Motzki. It challenges the view––derived from the persistent assumption in Western scholarship that, unless proven case by case to be otherwise, the ḥadīth corpus must be regarded as back-projected forgery––that the sanctity of the Prophet’s city evolved several generations after his death. Following brief accounts of this view and of how the isnād-cum-matn analysis is applied, the paper works through several clusters of ḥadīth variants to demonstrate that the Prophet himself did, on a single occasion, sanctify Madina and indicate the boundaries of the sacred area. The veracity of these core elements of the report is strengthened, not weakened, by the fact of variations in wording, while the variations do also reflect changes in the boundaries of the city and in the early generations’ representation of its sanctity. This study should contribute to better understanding of Islamic origins, notably Madina’s historical and religious significance, and help in questioning the distrust of traditional Muslim records and accounts of early Islamic history.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jis/etaf047

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Tags: #IslamicStudies #Hadith #Medina #IslamicHistory #EarlyIslam

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

28 April 2026 18:30

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Suffering with the self-confirming God

By Paul K. Moser, Loyola University

The missing piece for many inquirers about God is a recognized experience of God as supporting evidence for belief in God. This article characterizes such experience in terms of a self-confirming and self-manifesting God who suffers with humans. It does so in the context of the issue whether God, if real, would do better now with the world. Inquirers often give an affirmative answer to support atheism implying that God does not exist. A silencing theodicy, in response to atheism, questions supposedly firm objections to the reality and goodness of God based on the world’s evils. Such a theodicy does not show that atheism is false, but it undermines the evidential support for atheism sought in claiming that God, if real, would do better now with the world. The article examines whether God asks too much of humans with ‘higher’ divine ways, but it proceeds without relying on a contested notion of the best of all possible worlds. It explains how God self-confirms divine reality and goodness in the midst of unexplained suffering for humans.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21692327.2026.2663768

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Tags: #Philosophy #PhilosophyOfReligion #Theodicy #Atheism #God

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

28 April 2026 18:23

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From Polemics to Peacebuilding: Tracing Interfaith Ideologies in Premodern and Contemporary Qur’ān Translations

By Najlaa Aldeeb, Effat University

This paper argues that English translations of the Qur’ān play a pivotal role in shaping interfaith dialogue, either fostering mutual understanding or reinforcing religious division, depending on the translator’s ideological stance. While interreligious relations have historically been marred by conflict, the 1893 Parliament of the World’s Religions marked a turning point toward more inclusive and dialogical engagement. In this context, translating the Qur’ān emerged as a crucial medium through which Islamic teachings could be made accessible to non-Muslim audiences. Several scholars, including Kidwai and Elmarsafy, have explored the Orientalist framing of Qur’ān translation; however, few researchers have examined how modern renderings consciously reposition the text as a site of interfaith ethics. This study critically examines whether George Sale’s influential translation of the Qur’ān—reprinted nearly 200 times—contributes to or hinders interfaith dialogue between Muslims and Christians. It compares Sale’s Qur’ān rendition into English with five contemporary translations. The paper analyzes the translations of five Qur’ānic verses promoting coexistence, with particular attention to key terms such as إِكْرَاهَ ikrah (compulsion), الدِّينِ ad-dīn (religion), تَّقْوَىٰ taqwā (piety), and مُسْلِمُونَ muslimūn (submitters). Guided by Munday’s theory of ideology in translation, the analysis demonstrates that Sale’s rendering adopts a distinctly polemical tone intended to assert Christian superiority. The findings indicate a clear shift from polemical to dialogical translation strategies. Sale’s Orientalist approach—evident in his footnote on Q.4:157, where he characterizes Muslim exegesis as intellectually deficient—ultimately constrains meaningful interfaith engagement. In contrast, Khattab employs an inclusive and ethically grounded approach that actively fosters interreligious dialogue. By positioning Qur’ān translation at the intersection of theology, linguistics, and interfaith relations, this paper demonstrates that translation choices hold significant power: they can either bridge divides or exacerbate tensions between religious communities.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17050512

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Tags: #IslamicStudies #Quran #TranslationStudies #InterfaithDialogue

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

28 April 2026 18:20

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Evaluation of Material Use in Early Childhood Religious Education, Türkiye: Qur’an Courses for 4–6-Year-Old Students

By Ramazan Erten; Veysel Karani Altun, Fırat University

Early childhood is a critical period in which religious and moral foundations are established, and the materials used in this process directly influence the quality of learning. In Türkiye, institutional religious education for early childhood is provided through Qur’an courses for children aged 4–6 years, affiliated with the Presidency of Religious Affairs. This study examines the attitudes of instructors working in these courses toward material use and the types of materials preferred in the educational process. Designed within a quantitative research approach using a survey model, the study aimed to collect data from instructors working in Qur’an courses for 4–6-year-old children during the 2023–2024 academic year in Türkiye. Based on voluntary participation, 363 instructors took part in the study. Data were collected through the Material Use Questionnaire and the Attitude Scale Toward Material Use in the Classroom Environment questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS 22.0. Due to the non-normal distribution of the data, the Kruskal–Wallis H test and the Mann–Whitney U test were applied. The findings show that instructors have positive attitudes toward the use of instructional materials and that printed and auditory materials are the most frequently used in the educational process.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17050505

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Tags: #IslamicStudies #Education #ReligiousEducation #Turkey #Pedagogy

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

28 April 2026 18:16

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The Māturīdī Tradition of Tafsīr : Representatives, Reception and Doctrinal Development

By Philipp Bruckmayr, University of Bamberg

Despite increasing scholarly interest in the Māturīdī school of dialectic theology and Abū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī’s Qur’an commentary among scholars of the history of kalam (rational theology) and tafsīr (Qur’anic exegesis), respectively, comparatively little attention has been devoted so far to the role of Qur’anic exegesis among later representatives of the school and to its relevance for the elaboration and transmission of Māturīdī thought in general. Accordingly, this article sketches the history of the Māturīdī tradition of Qur’anic exegesis. After discussing al-Māturīdī’s foundational Taʾwīlāt ahl as-Sunna and its relevance for the formulation and dissemination of his doctrines, it turns to the tafsīr works of later major Māturīdī scholars, most notably Najm al-Dīn al-Nasafī and Abū l-Barakāt al-Nasafī. It presents an overview of the history and impact of Māturīdī(-influenced) Qur’anic interpretation until the 19th century, as reflected in independent tafsīr works as well as in glosses and super-glosses to earlier texts of the genre, including to popular non-Māturīdī titles, such as al-Zamakhsharī’s al-Kashshāf and al-Bayḍāwī’s Anwār al-Tanzīl. Thereby, it is shown that the field of tafsīr has been an important locus for the assertion, elaboration and transmission of Māturīdī thought.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55831/ajis.v11i2.1179

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Tags: #IslamicTheology #Quran #Tafsir #Maturidi #IslamicStudies

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

28 April 2026 18:13

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The Transformation of Islamic Religious Authority

By Rüdiger Lohlker, University of Vienna; Soleh Hasan Wahid, Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia

The transformation of religious authority in the digital age is shaped by the interactions between human actors, digital media and algorithmic systems. This study uses digital ethnography to examine how religious authority is constructed and negotiated on digital platforms used by Muslims in Indonesia and globally. This study focuses on seven authoritative figures in the digital Islamic landscape, representing different spectra of authority, from traditional pesantren in Indonesia to transnational apologetics and urban liberalism. The findings reveal patterns of authority delegation in which digital platforms replace human roles in da’wah and Islamic institutions. Religious authority is formed through articulative work that connects the Sunnah, intermediaries (religious scholars), and congregations. Public search data show that digital spaces function as a medium of distribution, where religious authority is shaped by audience responses, message repetition, symbolic affiliation, and the dynamics of debate. This study highlights the role of algorithmic culture and authority representation aesthetics in mediating religious authority in the digital age. Algorithms shape exposure and reach audiences, and representational aesthetics are crucial for disseminating religious content. The study concludes that clerical authority in the digital era results from technocultural mediation, in which the cleric becomes both a figure and representation calculated by machines and validated by the audience’s participation.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040493

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Tags: #IslamicStudies #ReligiousStudies #Technology #DigitalReligion #Sociology

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

28 April 2026 13:57

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Cosmic Existentialism: Existence in an Indifferent Universe

By Eduardo Duque-Dussán, Czech University of Life Sciences

The problem of meaning in an apparently indifferent universe has long been a central concern of existential philosophy. Classical existentialism addressed this question by emphasizing human freedom, responsibility, and the creation of meaning in the absence of transcendental guarantees, yet it largely remained framed within an anthropocentric horizon. This article introduces the concept of cosmic existentialism as a philosophical framework that situates human existence within the broader context of a scientifically understood cosmos. Through conceptual philosophical analysis, the paper reinterprets key existential categories such as angst, authenticity, and freedom in light of contemporary cosmological perspectives. Within this framework, the indifference of the universe is interpreted as a fundamental existential condition within the cosmological framework adopted in this study that reveals the fragility and contingency of human life. The analysis suggests that recognizing humanity’s lack of cosmic privilege does not lead to nihilism but instead allows meaning to be interpreted as a local, finite, and relational phenomenon. Cosmic existentialism therefore offers a philosophical perspective that integrates existential reflection with modern cosmological understanding and provides a framework for thinking about human existence within an indifferent universe. This standpoint is articulated through several principles, including cosmic indifference, the existential locality of meaning, and the contingency of human existence within the cosmos. Rather than emphasizing the scale of the universe itself, the present analysis suggests that the philosophical significance of cosmology lies in the removal of any privileged standpoint from which human existence can be interpreted.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies11020063

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Tags: #Philosophy #Existentialism #Metaphysics #Cosmology #PhilosophyOfReligion

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

28 April 2026 13:53

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The moral life of attention: silence, waiting, and the governance of inner life in Islamic Religious Education

By Moh Yasir Alimi, Universitas Negeri Semarang

This article examines Islamic Religious Education (IRE) in Indonesian higher education as a site where inner life is ethically organised under late-modern conditions. It asks how everyday classroom practices organise attention, time, and presence in ways that shape students’ ethical orientation towards uncertainty and moral responsibility. Drawing on a semester-long ethnographic study of 55 undergraduate students in a compulsory IRE course at Universitas Negeri Semarang, the article analyses silence, waiting, and attending as attentional forms embedded in everyday classroom interaction. These forms are enacted through ordinary pedagogical rhythms—such as pauses, delayed closure, and modes of presence—that regulate expression, temporality, and responsiveness. Rather than viewing IRE primarily as ideological transmission, therapeutic intervention, or formal moral instruction, the article conceptualises it as an institutional mode of ethical governance organised through attention, termed attentional governance. By foregrounding these attentional dynamics, the study offers an anthropological account of how institutional Islam enables students to inhabit uncertainty without resolving it, contributing to debates on ethical and spiritual formation in Religious Education.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2026.2659841

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Tags: #IslamicStudies #ReligiousStudies #Education #Ethics #Psychology

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

28 April 2026 13:48

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Fortifying the Deep Ecology Platform: Nursi’s Tafakkur Īmānī as a Metaphysical Completion to Naess’ Deep Questioning

By Moh. Isom Mudin; Hadi; Nabila, University of Darussalam Gontor, Indonesia

The escalating environmental crisis underscores the inadequacy of purely technical solutions, necessitating a fundamental reorientation of humanity’s relationship with nature. This article examines two transformative approaches to this challenge. It first considers Arne Naess’ Deep Ecology, whose method of Deep Questioning effectively repositions humanity within the broader ecological community and establishes a philosophical basis for biocentric equality and the Ecological Self. Naess’ principal achievement lies in developing an inclusive framework that fosters ecological solidarity across diverse traditions. However, the movement’s philosophical openness—its chief strength—simultaneously presents its central limitation: the absence of a definitive metaphysical foundation capable of sustaining long-term environmental commitment. The study, therefore, turns to Bediüzzaman Said Nursi’s tawhidic ecology, arguing that its core practice of tafakkur īmānī (contemplation of faith) complements and enhances the Deep Ecology project rather than supplanting it. Grounded in tawḥīd taḥqīqī (verified monotheism) and naẓar ḥarfī (interpreting creation as Divine signification), Nursi’s framework re-conceives the biosphere as a manifestation of Divine Names (tajalliyāt al-asmā’ al-ḥusnā). The resultant synthesis preserves the horizontal-immanent strengths of Naess’ approach while augmenting it with a vertical-transcendent epistemology, thus forging a comprehensive environmental philosophy.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55831/ajis.v11i3.1057

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Tags: #IslamicTheology #PhilosophyOfReligion #Ethics #SaidNursi #Environment

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

12 April 2026 18:48

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Problems of God in Descartes

By C. P. Ragland, Saint Louis University

This Element discusses the roles played by the idea of God in René Descartes’ epistemology, physics, and metaphysics, and problems arising from those roles. Section 1 gives an overview of Descartes’ life, works, and reception, focusing on the extent to which he is a religious or a secular thinker. Section 2 focuses on the problem of the Cartesian circle generated by his claim that all human knowledge depends on knowledge of God. Section 3 explains the role of God in Descartes’ physics and addresses problems concerning how God’s causal activity relates to that of creatures, including how divine providence fits with human freedom and how voluntary bodily actions are consistent with the laws of nature. Section 4 explores Descartes’ claim that God freely created the eternal truths, noting its implications for his theory of modality.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009287173

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Tags: #PhilosophyOfReligion #Philosophy #Metaphysics #Epistemology #Descartes

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

12 April 2026 18:44

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The Metaphysics of Emotion: Said Nursi’s Contribution to Positive Psychology

By Salih Yucel, Charles Sturt University

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (d. 1960) is one of the most influential theologians of the modern Islamic world. Although he did not write a dedicated work on psychology or wellbeing, both themes are interwoven throughout his Magnum Opus, the Risale-i Nur (Epistle of Light). Having endured persecution, imprisonment, exile, and constant surveillance for approximately 35 years under Jacobin-style secularism, Nursi developed and practised a form of positive psychology not only in theory but also in his daily life. This positive psychology is reflected in his concept of nazar (positive outlook) and müspet hareket (positive action), which shaped his social relations even with oppressors and adversaries. In addition, Nursi formulated a methodology for regulating emotions. He argues that each person possesses thousands of emotions, each with two dimensions – figurative and real – and every emotion is inherently infinite and cannot be satisfied by finite objects. When emotions are not directed toward the purposes for which they were created, a human being cannot attain genuine or lasting happiness in the mind, soul, or heart. Nursi’s understanding of positive psychology is firmly grounded in Qur’anic metaphysics and traditional Islamic ethics. This article first offers a brief overview of positive psychology, which is discussed under the concept of husnu zann (positive thinking), ilmun nafs(carnal soul), ruh (soul), sa’adah (happiness), and qalb(heart). It then examines Nursi’s conception of positive psychology and its manifestation in his daily life. Finally, it explores how Nursi regulated and rationalised his emotions during the most challenging periods of his life.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55831/ajis.v11i1.1255

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Tags: #IslamicTheology #PhilosophyOfReligion #Psychology #Ethics #SaidNursi

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

12 April 2026 18:37

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From Poetic Vision to Religious Witness: The Qurʾānic Transformation of Poetic Travel

By Hannelies Koloska, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

This article explores the Qurʾānic transformation of poetic travel, situating it within the broader cultural and religious context of Late Antiquity. By examining the Qurʾān’s repeated injunctions to travel and observe the landscape, the study reveals how travel is reconfigured from a poetic act of nostalgic vision into a religious epistemic practice of witnessing divine truth. It compares pre-Islamic Arabic poetic traditions, particularly the qasīda, with Late Antique Christian pilgrimage practices to demonstrate how the Qurʾān synthesizes and reshapes these modes of journeying into a vision-centered theology of travel.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040444

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Tags: #IslamicStudies #ReligiousStudies #Quran #History #PhilosophyOfReligion

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

02 May 2026 18:46

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Muslim Theological Encounters with Science: Kaleidoscopes of Knowledge Over Time

By Ebrahim Moosa, University of Notre Dame

Muslim Theological Encounters with Science dismantles the ‘Islamic decline’ narrative by showing how science and theology have long coexisted in Muslim civilization. Premodern thinkers navigated enduring tensions between reason and revelation, ensuring that intellectual disagreement fostered growth rather than hostility. Modern friction between science and Muslim theology—driven by colonialism, limited scientific literacy, and the absence of a science-attuned common sense among theologians—has often, though not exclusively, stemmed from adherence to outdated theological models. The author proposes a ‘symphonic and braided’ framework for relating science and theology, treating them as distinct yet complementary languages of meaning-making. Cultivating humility and imagination emerges as essential to human understanding. By avoiding the trap of forced convergence, this framework allows science to explain the ‘how’ while theology addresses the ‘why,’ together weaving a more complex and resilient pursuit of the truth.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009308465

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Tags: #IslamicStudies #ScienceAndReligion #Theology #Philosophy #Knowledge

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

02 May 2026 18:40

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Eclipses in Hadith

By Amina Inloes, The Islamic College, London

It is said that, after the Prophet’s young son Ibrāhīm died, the sun eclipsed. When the people said that the sun had eclipsed because Ibrāhīm had died, the Prophet said that eclipses do not occur due to deaths, and led eclipse prayers. This paper argues that while the hadith corpus correctly records an annular solar eclipse in 632 CE, Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad did not die on that day. Rather, one set of hadith records Ibrāhīm’s death and burial, and another set of hadith records the eclipse; by the mid-ninth century, the two strands fused into a single story. This story, in turn, parallels accounts of an eclipse after the martyrdom of the Prophet’s grandson, al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī (d. 680), at the Battle of Karbala. While some Muslims present the Ibrāhīm-eclipse story as a way of showing how Islam broke from pre-Islamic notions of eclipses, the Ibrāhīm-eclipse and Karbala-eclipse narratives together still retain ancient associations between eclipses and death, lament, battle, the fall of notables, and apotropaic ceremonies. This paper also exemplifies how reports of astronomical events in hadith can yield insights into Islamic history, and a supplementary appendix explores some later eclipses mentioned in the Shiʿi hadith corpus.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17050544

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Tags: #IslamicStudies #Hadith #IslamicHistory #Karbala #Astronomy

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

02 May 2026 18:36

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On the rationality of prayers of praise and thanksgiving

By Noam Oren, New York University

Praise and thanksgiving prayers are central practices in Abrahamic religions and many other faith traditions. Recently, John Pittard and Daniel Howard-Snyder have articulated two arguments suggesting that the rationality of these practices is undermined by the claim that the God of classical theism lacks the moral credit necessary to warrant agential praise or thanks. However, for their critique to present a genuine challenge to traditional theism, it must presuppose an additional premise: that agential praise and thanks are essential components of an ideal religious life. I challenge this premise, arguing that the justification for religious praise and thanks lies not in God’s moral standing but in the virtues or duties of the individual offering them. Accordingly, I maintain that debates about God’s moral status are misplaced when assessing the rationality of praise and thanksgiving prayers.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11153-026-10002-y

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Tags: #Philosophy #PhilosophyOfReligion #Theism #Ethics #ReligiousPractice

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

29 April 2026 14:12

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Sultan’s Absence: The Vacuum of Political Authority and Late Mālikī Jurisprudence

By Abdulrahman Sabah Alazemi, Kuwait University

This article explores the implications of the absence of central political authority on Islamic jurisprudence in pre-colonial Mauritania. It examines how Saharan jurists, in the absence of a sultan, assumed de facto authority to uphold shariʿa, thereby legitimizing the local Muslim community and its internal alliances. These jurists adapted Mālikī jurisprudence to the socio-political and economic challenges particular to the desert environment, using flexible principles and tools of ijtihād. This adaptability enabled them to address complex legal issues, including interactions with mustaghriqī al-dhimma, management of tributes imposed by the Banī Ḥassān, the adoption of pecuniary penalties in place of retributive measures to prevent tribal conflicts, and the expansion of the ʿāqila concept. Furthermore, their approach facilitated the controversial recognition of French colonial rule. The study highlights the intricate relationship between shariʿa and siyāsa and commends further research into the nawāzil heritage of the Mālikī school, to deepen our understanding of how Islamic jurisprudence adapts across diverse political contexts.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jis/etaf039

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Tags: #IslamicStudies #IslamicLaw #Maliki #Fiqh #PoliticalTheology

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

28 April 2026 18:28

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The Oddness of Ethics Without God: Why Morality Is Not “At Home” in a Non-Theistic World

By Paul Copan, Palm Beach Atlantic University

Despite non-theistic proposals on offer to ground moral realism, theism still offers a far more stable, robust, and well-integrated metaphysical context for objective moral facts and moral values. Moral realism is not truly “at home” within such non-theistic frameworks, which include Cornell school-type naturalistic moral realism or non-naturalistic, non-theistic Platonist moral realism. Theism’s deep connection to moral facts and moral values is more natural, unifying, and basic than these alternatives. Furthermore, theism offers a more comprehensive explanatory account for other central features of our human experience, as well as key features of the universe in which we find ourselves.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17050521

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Tags: #Philosophy #Ethics #PhilosophyOfReligion #Theism #Metaphysics

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

28 April 2026 18:21

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Islamic Parenting Style: Scale Development and Validation Based on Qur’an and Hadith

By Maryam Noor, Islamia University & University of Peshawar; Muhammad Jahanzeb Khan, University of Science and Technology Bannu; Abidullah Khan, Sakarya University; Irum Saba, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University; Hend Faye AL-shahrani, Princess Noura bint Abdul Rahman University

This study aims to develop a scale to measure Islamic parenting practices grounded in Hadith and Qur’anic teachings. The Islamic Parenting Style Scale (IPSS) was created using experimentally derived items rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Data were collected from 818 parents aged 30 to 65 from both rural and urban districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Exploratory factor analysis examined the scale’s factor structure and validity. The results identified three factors in the IPSS: the Compassionate, Guidance/Supervision, and Cognitive/Reflective domains. The scale also demonstrated strong internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.92 and a composite reliability (CR) above 0.07 for all three factors. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the three-factor model with good fit indices. Overall, these findings suggest that the Islamic Parenting Style Scale is a valid and reliable tool for assessing Islamic parenting styles among parents. This research significantly enhances the understanding of parenting practices rooted in Islamic principles.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17050511

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Tags: #IslamicStudies #Psychology #Parenting #Hadith #Quran

𝐈 𝐇 Rᴇᴘᴏsɪᴛᴏʀʏ

28 April 2026 18:17

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Defying the Hermeneutical Universal: The Contours of Classical Islamic Exegesis

By Laura Sani, Columbia University

This article re-examines the interpretative methodologies of early Muslim exegetes, particularly ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ, arguing that their premodern approach fostered a holistic understanding of the Qur’ānic text. Unlike modern frameworks that often impose rigid categorical divisions, classical tools of interpretation situate revelation within a dynamic temporal and historical context, thereby establishing a palpable nexus between the Divine message and lived human experience. Furthermore, there is pushback against modern interpretative categories that overemphasise sectarian divisions or uncritically borrowed terms from other monotheistic religions. By exploring the concepts of authenticity (ṣiḥḥah) and authority (thiqah) in early Qur’ānic exegesis, this article demonstrates how these two elements shaped an interpretive paradigm that is not merely a variation of broader hermeneutical theories but a distinct intellectual enterprise with its own logic and objectives. Ultimately, the significant contribution of the endeavour lies in the more nuanced representation of Islamic intellectual history, challenging anachronistic readings and illuminating the unique epistemological commitments that underpinned classical interpretative approaches.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55831/ajis.v11i2.1279

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Tags: #IslamicStudies #Quran #Tafsir #Hermeneutics #IslamicTheology

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28 April 2026 18:14

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Creation in Integration: Islamic Adaptation and Transcultural Praxis in Yuan China

By Wei Wang, Minzu University of China

This article examines the early formation of Confucian–Islamic synthesis during the Yuan dynasty, arguing that institutional and intellectual adaptations in this period laid the groundwork for the later systematic synthesis known as “Yi-Ru Huitong” (伊儒會通). Moving beyond narratives of assimilation or resistance, it analyzes how Muslim communities navigated China’s pluralistic sociopolitical landscape through a process of creative adaptation. Employing a multidisciplinary approach that integrates textual analysis, historical comparison, and transcultural theory, the study investigates three key dimensions: the development of hybrid religious institutions, legal-political negotiations, and mechanisms of social integration. Drawing on multilingual sources—including Persian Islamic manuals, Yuan administrative archives, and epigraphic evidence—it demonstrates how Yuan-era Muslims established patterns of selective adaptation that preserved Islamic identity while enabling meaningful engagement with Chinese cultural norms. These developments not only ensured the survival of Islam in China but also generated a range of transcultural achievements in astronomy, medicine, architecture, and the literary arts, thereby creating the necessary conditions for the profound philosophical syntheses of the Ming-Qing era. By positioning the Yuan period as a crucial incubator of Sino-Islamic civilization, this study offers insights for comparative philosophy and the global history of civilizational dialog, inviting reflection on the early Chinese Islamic experience as a significant case of sustainable cross-civilizational engagement.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040494

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Tags: #IslamicStudies #History #China #ComparativeReligion #ReligiousStudies

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28 April 2026 13:59

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Is the Distinction between Revealed and Natural Theology Applicable to Ibn Rushd’s Islamic Theism? Aristotelian Deistic Theism in Ibn Rushd

By Kemal Batak, Sakarya University

In this article, I examine whether the distinction between revealed theology and natural theology applies to Ibn Rushd’s (Averroes’s) conception of Islamic theism. My analysis proceeds in two stages: (i) a structural-historical account of Ibn Rushd’s Aristotelian theory of religion; and (ii) its broader philosophical implications, especially how suspending that distinction yields a deistic form of theism. Whereas Thomas Aquinas distinguishes between revealed and natural theology, Ibn Rushd rejects a strict bifurcation and articulates a unified epistemological vision (the no-bifurcation thesis). Within this vision, Aristotelian demonstrative truths occupy a higher ‘religious’ status, while literal/apparent beliefs have a lower status (the priority thesis). Unlike in Aquinas, natural theology is not the preserve of a philosophical elite: it is also open to ordinary people, whose faith counts as knowledge (ʿilm) – hence a natural theology of common sense. In Part II, I turn to Ibn Rushd’s Aristotelian deistic Islamic theism, where the ‘religion peculiar to philosophers’ is understood as Aristotelian metaphysics, that is, natural theology in its narrow sense. On the identity thesis, Ibn Rushd makes Aristotelian metaphysics the knowledge peculiar to God and thus the philosopher’s highest religion, grounding revelation and regulating literal religion.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09596410.2026.2652195

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Tags: #IslamicPhilosophy #PhilosophyOfReligion #Metaphysics #IbnRushd #IslamicStudies

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28 April 2026 13:54

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Negated Antithesis as Reflected in the Qurʾān and in Pre-Qurʾānic Arabic Poetry

By Ali Ahmad Hussein, University of Haifa

This article presents a comparative analysis of the negated antithesis (ṭibāq salb) in pre-Islamic poetry and the Qurʾān using data generated by the Rhetorical Element Identifier (REI), a computational tool capable of automatically detecting this device across both corpora. Drawing on a dataset of 1908 pre-Islamic poems and the full Qurʾānic text, the study explores how shared rhetorical patterns reflect a broader stylistic continuum between the two earliest Arabic literary traditions. While the Qurʾān employs structures attested in the poetic corpus, it frequently reconfigures them—shifting antithetical elements from verse-final to mid-verse positions, creating new syntactic configurations, and deploying the device for didactic and theological aims. The analysis also identifies thirty-three shared verbal roots that appear in comparable grammatical settings across both corpora, underscoring a common semantic foundation. By isolating a single rhetorical feature, the study highlights how the Qurʾān both inherits and reshapes earlier poetic strategies, offering fresh insight into the evolution of early Arabic rhetoric.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040490

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Tags: #IslamicStudies #Quran #ArabicLiterature #ReligiousStudies #History

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28 April 2026 13:51

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Simulations All the Way Up! An Atheist’s Response to the Fine-Tuning Argument

By Nikk Effingham, University of Birmingham

So the Fine-tuning Argument goes, because it is so unlikely for the physical constants of the laws of nature to have taken the values that they in fact take, we should significantly raise our credence that God exists. Simulation Arguments argue that our world might be (or, in stronger versions, that it probably is) a mere computer simulation. This paper argues that, in light of a Simulation Argument with a particularly weak conclusion, fine-tuning reasoning instead motivates atheists to believe that we live in a computer simulation.

This paper discusses the Fine-tuning Argument (§§1–2), arguing that, in light of a certain Simulation Argument (§3), reasonable atheists moved by fine-tuning reasoning should believe that we are in a simulation (§4) or, perhaps, an infinite chain of simulations (§§5–7).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/phib.70007

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Tags: #PhilosophyOfReligion #Metaphysics #Philosophy #Atheism #SimulationTheory

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12 April 2026 18:49

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The Problem of God in Alvin Plantinga

By James Beilby, Bethel University

Alvin Plantinga is a noted American analytic philosopher who has written in the areas of philosophy of religion, metaphysics, epistemology, and apologetics. Plantinga’s Christian commitments are a crucial part of his philosophical work since nearly all of Plantinga’s writings have focused on explaining and defending Christian beliefs. He argues that there is no objection or set of objections that shows that Christianity is epistemically lacking, and as such, Christians can be fully rational, justified, and warranted in their religious beliefs. This Element discusses his work as a whole, and focuses on his contributions on the problem of evil, religious knowledge, science and religion, and Christian

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009269407

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Tags: #PhilosophyOfReligion #Philosophy #Epistemology #Metaphysics #Plantinga

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12 April 2026 18:46

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Said Nursi’s Mānā-yī Harfī: With Special Reference to Animals and Insects

By Leesa P Giokas-Drakos, Australian Catholic University

Bediüzzaman Said Nursi (1877-1960) was a contemporary Muslim scholar who developed a unique exegetical method of understanding Islam. He believed that it was humanity’s responsibility to know God, and the only way to do that was by observing His divine names found throughout both the Qur’an, and what Nursi termed the “Book of the Universe.” Nursi considered the universe a beautifully written book that we are all a part of, in which God has carefully painted each letter. In reading this “Book of the Universe”, Nursi was able to directly and indirectly witness God and God’s divine names everywhere, and in everything. This is Nursi’s theological concept of mānā-yī harfī, which functioned as his Weltanschauung. Because of this worldview, he deeply valued all lifeforms, and his love for God’s art extended right down to the atomic level. Though he believed that God placed humans at the top of nature’s hierarchy, Nursi did not abuse this responsibility. Rather, he demonstrated an immense love for animals throughout his life which surpassed many animal rights activists today. This article will therefore be a discourse analysis of his works, focussing largely on how they translated to his views and treatment of non-human life.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55831/ajis.v11i3.767

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Tags: #IslamicTheology #PhilosophyOfReligion #Ethics #SaidNursi #IslamAndScience

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12 April 2026 18:40

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Between Speech and Silence: Islamic Fairy Tales as a Mystical Bridge in the Siyasatnama and Sufi Traditions

By Fehmi Ünsalan; Sema Ülper Oktar, Kocaeli University

This article posits that Islamic fairy tales function as a mystical bridge of speech, a discursive passage that, within the siyasatnama tradition, summons the subject toward ethico-political responsibility, while in Sufi narrative, it carries the seeker beyond the limits of language toward a transformative silence. Reading Indo-Persian and Ottoman siyasatnama texts alongside the Sufi classics of Attar and Rumi, the article traces this movement across both traditions. In the siyasatnama context, the fairy tale translates divine commandments into a set of virtues, such as justice, mercy, and compassion, that regulate the conduct of both ruler and subject, framing governance as an ethical response to a sacred truth. Conversely, in Sufi narrative, the fairy tale operates within a similar ethical–pedagogical grammar but directs the subject toward a fundamentally different ontological end: The dissolution of the self. Here, speech becomes a threshold to be crossed and narrative a cage to be surrendered, allowing the seeker to enter the silence in which divine love is realized. Ultimately, the article proposes that mystical transcendence does not signify a withdrawal from the ethical sphere; instead, it constitutes its most profound enactment, manifested either through the responsible exercise of power or its radical renunciation in love.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040451

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Tags: #IslamicStudies #Sufism #PhilosophyOfReligion #Ethics #ReligiousStudies

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12 April 2026 18:25

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The Ontology of Individualization in Avicenna in the Context of Identity and Differentiation

By Kübra Bilgin Tiryaki, Marmara University

Discussion of the issue of individuation in Avicenna’s philosophy seeks an answer to the question of how individuation can be explained ontologically in light of species-realization in individuals. The ontological aspect of individuation itself has two facets. One of them is what makes the individuals of a given species identical to themselves. The other pertains to what truly distinguishes the individuals of the species from each other. Just as answering for the self alone does not yield dissociation, the dissociation of individuals does not answer the question about their selves. Prior to Avicenna, the explanation of individuals’ selfhood was interpreted in the context of Aristotle’s philosophy and discussions were conducted on whether it is matter or form that gives selfhood. The differentiation of individuals from each other was handled on the sensory plane through the field of properties. The main claim of this article is that Avicenna developed a unique approach with his theory of quiddity that encompasses both aspects of individuation. With this theory, Avicenna explains the self-identity of the individual with “the existence of quiddity-in-itself specific to that individual” and thus creates the necessary ground for a field of properties that will make it possible for the individual to be differentiated from other individuals of the species. The differentiation of individuals is answered through the field of properties that can be “pointed to” as a result of sensory perception. Among these features, position (waḍʿ) and place (ayn) come to the fore in terms of being considered primordial. In order to justify this claim, the theory of quiddity-in-itself, which underlies Avicenna’s original approach to the issue of individuation, and the structure of the properties that emerge depending on secondary dispositions (istiʿdād) will be revealed. In this way, it will be argued that quiddity-in-itself provides the substantial unity that will save the object from being a mass of properties, and that first position and place, and then other sensible properties give the distinctive individual structure on the basis of the idea of istiʿdād. In this way, the article will argue that Avicenna develops an integrated ontology of individuation in terms of quiddity and istiʿdād theories.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.65643/Nazariyat.11.2.M0257en

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Tags: #IslamicPhilosophy #Philosophy #Metaphysics #Avicenna #PhilosophyOfReligion