The Reconstruction of ILM-AL-KALAM
The Reconstruction of ILM-AL-KALAM
Hassan Khan
Jamia Millia Islamia
ILM-AL-KALAM “Islamic scholastic theology” is one of the
sciences introduced by Muslims in the beginning of 2nd century. This
science is about proving religious belief with logic and reason. It had great
impact on that period and became an important discipline among Muslim intellectual
tradition.
The main
opponent of Kalam discourse was Greece Philosophy in that period which was
based on assumption purely. Time passed and world entered in the age of
“Science”, the age of empirical truth. The definitions of reality and
principles of inference changed widely, Science led to atheism and skepticism,
but poor religion could not reconstruct substitute to be explained according to
science. in the writings of Al Ghazali and Matureedi, they are dealt with the notion of reality, knowledge and its sources. . But they need to
be updated according to the time, we find the principles of inferences in the
books of ILM-AL-KALAM today, most of them are not valid these days. The recent
intellectual world doesn’t accept those theories which presented centuries ago
in the favor of religion, the world entered new age, and science replaced
philosophy which is more helpful and closer to religion.
Unfortunately
the ILM-AL-KALAM could not appear in new form, after the introduction of “Law
of Causation” scientists claimed not any God required for the creation of
Universe. They believe that religion has to be rejected because it doesn’t have
any scientific arguments behind it. Bertrand Russell writes in his book “Why I’m
not a Christian”: I think all the great religions of the world –Buddhism,
Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and Communism- both untrue and harmful.............
It is true that scholastics invented what professed to be logical arguments
proving the existence of God, and that these arguments, or others of the
similar tenor have been accepted by many eminent philosophers, but the logic to
which these traditional arguments appealed is of an antiquated Aristotelian
sort which is now rejected by practically all logicians except such as are Catholics.
There is one of these arguments which
are not purely logical. I mean the argument from design. This argument however
was destroyed by Darwin; and in any case could only be made logically
respectable at the cost of abandoning God’s omnipotence”.
ILM AL KALAM need to enter the new
way of inference with the explanation of experience based realities. A big group
of scientists today started believing that there are forms of probable
inference which can be true although they are not verified by experience, so
the science makes the way easy to prove God and his relativity with the
creation of universe. It is very supporting claim which appears by science that
human being has reached very limited amount of knowledge despite his advanced
tools and technologies. I think it will be the out of reach from human being
always to prove there is someone who has only the perfect and complete
knowledge, human being needs to be surrendered himself to that one being.
The reconstruction of ILM AL KALAM becomes
more important when science is ready to create a new religion on the basis of
own humane experience and observations. They believe religion is an art like
others which can be explained by human experience without any requirement of
revelation. The Kalam needs to be revisited and constructed on the inference
principles of this period so as religion can walk parallel with science and
both become supportive together.
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