إمكانية تطبيق اللاهوت الطبيعي في علم الكلام وعلاقته بمفهوم الوسطية
The Applicability of Natural Theology in Islamic Kalām and Its Relationship with the Concept of Wasatiyya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22452/basirah.vol16no1.8Keywords:
Natural Theology, Kalām, Daqīq al-Kalām, Jalīl al-Kalām, Wasatiyya ThoughtAbstract
Natural theology has held an important place in Western thought as a method of acquiring knowledge about the existence and attributes of God based not only on revelation but also on universal sources such as reason and nature. It is integrated into revealed theology and seeks to demonstrate the truths of revelation by appealing to objective sources like reason and the natural world. Evolving from Ancient Greek philosophy to Medieval Christian theology and later modern thinkers, this approach stands out particularly for its efforts to offer rational proofs for the existence of God. But can this mode of thinking find a place in Islamic kalām? This paper first presents the historical development and conceptual framework of natural theology, followed by an examination of its counterparts and possible applications within Islamic kalām. It will analyze to what extent the rational argumentation methods found in the daqīqu’l-kalām literature align with the principles of natural theology. In this context, classical kalām scholars such as al-Juwaynī, al-Ghazālī, and Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī will be evaluated through their use of cosmological, teleological (argument from design), and purpose-based arguments. This will allow an inquiry into whether natural theology was employed as a methodological tool from the early periods of kalām and how it might be revitalized in contemporary discourse.In the final section of the study, the relationship between natural theology and the Islamic concept of wasatiyya will be explored. Wasatiyya represents a moderate approach that balances reason and revelation not only on social and political levels but also in the domain of knowledge production. In this context, natural theology -without excluding revelation- offers a balanced and universal mode of knowledge based on reason. This demonstrates that it may serve as an important epistemological method reinforcing the spirit of wasatiyya within the science of kalām.
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