Methodology of "Philosophical Kalam" in the Thought of Ibn Maytham Bahrani

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

Science of Kalam since its very dawn has undergone through various stages and modes; traditionalism, dialectical method, rationalism, hermeneutics, philosophical Kalam are considered to be among the most important approaches in the course of evolution of Shia Kalam. Having provided a short introduction of the school of philosophical Kalam, the current essay with a descriptive-analytic method seeks to study the Kalam based approach of Ibn Maytham Bahrani and via a set of different evidence from his works and ideas it proves that Bahrani's chosen path in Kalam is rational-philosophical. Deduction and analysis of the features of philosophical Kalam in the thought of Ibn Haytham is also of importance from the perspective that with the emphasis on rationality, argument, free thinking and critical thought it can provide the scholars of Shia Kalam with a methodological pattern.
 
Introduction
Following the emergence of different ideological problems and intellectual disputes among Muslims a science started to take form that due to its inclusion of beliefs it was given various names like "science of beliefs", "science of articles of faith", "jurisprudence the great", and "science of monotheism and divine attributes". But the most renowned title used for this science is Kalam which became popular at least from the second century of Hijrah and it refers to a science that discusses religious beliefs based on a rational and traditional method and not only deduces the beliefs from its sources rather it also explains and proves religious beliefs and answers the doubts and objections of the opponents. The advantage and strength of the aforementioned definitions lies in the fact that it simultaneously contains the subject matter, method and end of the science of Kalam. However, examination and articulation of the science of Kalam and discussion of methodological issues are among the necessary premises of the methodic Kalam. Regardless of the diversity of methods and approaches which have existed in the science of Kalam since its very inception, one can still distinguish between three distinct general approaches in the explanation of ideological issues in the domain of Shia Kalam; first, traditional method and emphasis on religious texts and inattention to reason and its function in the understanding of Kalam issues; second approach is hermeneutical and esoteric method that not only underlines the authority and credit of reason and its role in the acquisition of knowledge and understanding of religious doctrines, it also considers the discovery of meanings and esoteric secrets from the words of Holy Book and Tradition impossible without the assistance of reason; third approach is the philosophical rationalism method in which the Kalam scholar struggles to explain the problems of Kalam using ontology and resorting to philosophical rules and judgments and with a philosophical style he discusses the divine truths and religious beliefs including monotheism, resurrection, prophecy and the secret of revelation of divine verses.
It seems that the method of philosophical Kalam did not exist in the era of Imams (peace be upon them) but in the early days of the Great Occultation Nobakhti scholars of Kalam took advantage of this method for explication of ideological issues. Although some of the scholars, based on the orthodox theory, have traced the emergence of philosophical school of Kalam back to Khajeh Nasir Al Din Tusi in seventh century of Hijrah, current essay suggests that the use of philosophical Kalam method is of longer history and its roots can be sought for in the ideas of Nobakhti scholars of Kalam and Khajeh Nasir and his pupils later built it into its great heights.
Among these philosopher-Kalam scholars the role of Ibn Haytham Bahrani the Shia thinker of seventh century and the author of Qawaed Al Maram fi Elm Al Kalam is of paramount importance in making the methodology of Shia Kalam philosophical which has been less studied by the scholars in this area indeed. Accordingly, the present essay is an effort for introduction and explanation of the role of this Shia Kalam scholar in the growth and evolution of Shia Kalam particularly in the completion and advancement of the philosophical Kalam.
 
Introduction of "Philosophical Kalam" Approach
In the current essay the term "philosophical Kalam" is used to denote a method according to which the goals of science of Kalam are justified based on philosophical criteria and the Kalam scholar owes his own required tools for fulfillment of his own professional mission to Islamic philosophy and wisdom and by using ontology and philosophical terms and rules he proceeds to infer and explain the Kalam issues. Therefore, "philosophical Kalam, methodologically speaking, belongs to the domain of philosophy and from teleological perspective; it is part of the area of science of Kalam".
Features of the Method of Philosophical Kalam in the Thought of Ibn Maytham
The approach of philosophical Kalam in the thought of Ibn Maytham particularly in the book entitled Qawaed Al Maram fi Elm Al Kalam comprises of certain constituents and features the recognition and introduction of which not only is of a strategic role in the study of course of historical evolution of science of Kalam it is of high importance in the methodology and analysis of the ideas of the founders of this Kalam school.
Among the most important features of philosophical Kalam in the thought and method of Ibn Maytham which is intended to be assayed and analyzed in this essay one can refer to the following: discussing philosophical problems including physics, general ontology and the problems related to being and nothingness, substance and accident, body and …, in the introductions of Kalam works; application of theosophical principles and philosophical notions like the principle of causality, essential contingency, the criterion of the need to cause, the principle of posteriority of existence to the necessity, and so on and so forth, in the explanation of ideological issues; insistence on rational arguments and keeping with logical proof and deduction in the explication of principles of religion and its Kalam corollaries, dominance of rationality over obedience and traditional and dialectical method in the explanation of religious claims.

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References

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Comparative Theology
Volume 10, Issue 22 - Serial Number 22
November 2019
Pages 93-106

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