Euclid and Jesus: How and why the church changed mathematics and Christianity across two religious wars by Raju C.K

Author:Raju, C.K. [Raju, C.K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Multiversity and Citizens International
Published: 2013-04-26T16:00:00+00:00

10.8 The theology of reason in Islam

By the time of the next Khalifa, al Mamun, there was a crisis due to a schism in Islam. The problem related to the interpretation of the Koran. How to interpret those passages in the Koran whose meaning was not self-evident? This was a matter of immediate practical importance, because Islamic judges relied upon the Koran for an understanding of how to dispense justice (jurisprudence, fiqh ). Passages from the Koran were cited in support of, or against, someone up for trial. Disagreement over the meaning of the passages meant that the judge could not reach a judgment, or that the judgment was widely felt to be unjust.

Of the two contending groups, one was of the traditionalists who believed in interpreting the Koran literally. The opposing group, called the Mu’tazilah, argued that the relevant passages in the Koran must be understood intelligently, by applying the faculty of aql (intelligence or reason). The Mu’tazilah argued that the faculty of intelligence aql ) had been given to man to be used; hence it must be used also to understand passages in the Koran whose meaning was not transparent. This is in contrast to its opposite term naql , which commonly means (mindless) imitation, blind obedience to tradition, etc. 152 Hence the traditionalists were called naqli or imitators. The beliefs of the Mu’tazilah came to be known as the aql-i-kalam , the theology of reason.

The word Mu’tazilah literally means “separatists” or “back-turners”, and they were so called because the founder Wasil ibn ’Ata (80/699–131/748) turned his back on his teacher, al Basra. However, the Mu’tazilah described themselves as the People of Unity and Justice, since their two cardinal principles were unity (tauhid , oneness with Allah) and justice (’adl ). Since unity relates to immanence, hence equity, we recognize these two as the same as the principles of equity and justice that were espoused by philosophers. From these two principles of unity and justice, the Mu’tazilah used reason to deduce a variety of theological consequences, in the manner of Proclus’ Elements of Theology .

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