i s s u e 1 | 2 0 1 8 1 | 2 0 1 8 ARTICLES Kalam: Journal of Islamic Theology is a bi-annual Beauty & Aesthetics in Classical Islamic Thought multidisciplinary journal focusing on Islamic Theology, Kalam samir mahmoud Philosophy, Science and Spirituality published by Kalam journal of islamic theology The State of Philosophy in the Arab World Research & Media. The journal will promote the development ali el-konaissi of critical scholarship and new perspectives in the field and will aim to be a medium through which contemporary i s s u e 1 | 2 0 1 8 The Miraculous Nature of the Qur’an Islamic theology can be developed in conversation and nazif muhtaroglu engagement with related disciplines and perspectives on Beauty & Aesthetics in Classical Islamic Thought Kalam Atomism & Contemporary Cosmology the Big Questions. The State of Philosophy in the Arab World mehmet bülgen Cover & Back Image: Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem © Peter Sanders Photography The Miraculous Nature of the Qur’an INTERVIEW Cover Design by Sohail Nakhooda Kalam Atomism & Contemporary Cosmology Ottoman Heritage & Modern Challenges: Interview with Recep Sentürk Interview with Recep Sentürk BOOK REVIEWS edward moad | yusuf lenfest | samer dajani | valérie gonzales | faheem hussain | shoaib malik kalam journal of islamic theology | issue kalam research & media CONTENTS kalam journal • issue no.1 • 2018 3ARTICLES# Beauty and Aesthetics in Classical Islamic Thought: An Introduction 7 samir mahmoud Concerns on Philosophy in the Arab World: State of the Art 22 ali el-konaissi The Miraculous Nature of the Qur’an: A Response to Oliver Leaman 45 nazif muhtaro˘g lu Continuous Re-Creation: From Kalam Atomism to Contemporary Cosmology 59 mehmet bul ˘gen 3INTERVIEW# Recep Sentürk: Ottoman Heritage and Modern Challenges 68 interview by hamza karamali 3BOOK·REVIEWS# Mulla Sadra | Ibrahim Kalin 87 edward moad Virtue and the Moral Life | Werpehowski & Soltis (eds.) 89 yusuf lenfest The Principles of Sufism | Th. Emil Homerin (ed. & tr.) 90 samer dajani Sufi Bodies | Shahzad Bashir 93 valérie gonzalez Religion without God | Ronald Dworkin 95 faheem hussain Gunning for God | John Lennox 98 shoaib ahmed malik Where the Conflict Really Lies | Alvin Plantinga 100 shoaib ahmed malik Islam’s Quantum Question | Nidhal Guessoum 102 shoaib ahmed malik Theology in the Context of Science | John Polkinghorne 104 shoaib ahmed malik The Big Questions in Science and Religion | Keith Ward 106 shoaib ahmed malik ads.qxp_Layout 1 1/8/18 1:33 PM Page 1 KRM PUBLICATIONS OCCASIONALISM REVISITED New Essays from the Islamic and Western Philosophical Traditions Nazif Muhtaroglu (eds.) Bogazici University, Istanbul Occasionalism is commonly understood as the theory that ascribes all causal power to God, while treating cause-effect relations in nature as customary events or occasions determined by divine volition. Commonly misapprehended as originating in Western philosophy it already appears in the texts of Muslim scholars of the Ash‘ari and Maturidi school in the 10th century, before being transmitted to Europe via the works of Averroes and Maimonides in the 13th century. Yet it was only in the 17th cen- tury among the Cartesian philosophers and most famously in the works of Nicolas Malebranche that the theory flourished and was taken seriously. Many of the great philosophers such as Gottfried W. Leibniz and David Hume authored their works in light of the occasionalist critique of other theories of causation, especially the much contested concept of natural causation as formulated by Aristotle. This book aims to reveal unexplored historical roots of occasionalism in the Islamic and Western traditions in an effort 2017 | 312 pages to contribute to the discussions centered around this theory. $24.99 pb As an attempt to reveal the historical roots and philosophical dimensions of occasionalism, this volume illustrates the $39.99 hb indispensability of this theory for those who want to understand the central discussions and dynamics within Islamic and modern Available from Amazon.com philosophy. Apart from showing the significance of occasionalism in both traditions, this book draws out the contours and the common ground for contemporary discussions on causation. contributors to the volume Fred Ablondi (Hendrix College); Marc Hight (Hampden Sydney College); Ozgur Koca (Claremont School of Theology); Edward Omar Moad (Qatar University); Walter Ott (University of Virginia); Andrew Platt (Stony Brook University); Walter Schultz (University of Northwestern, St. Paul); J. Aaron Simmons (Furman University); Lisanne D’Andrea-Winslow (University of Northwestern, St. Paul); Aladdin Yaqub (Lehigh University) www.kalamresearch.com ads.qxp_Layout 1 1/8/18 1:33 PM Page 1 KRM PUBLICATIONS OCCASIONALISM REVISITED New Essays from the Islamic and Western Philosophical Traditions Nazif Muhtaroglu (eds.) Bogazici University, Istanbul Occasionalism is commonly understood as the theory that ascribes all causal power to God, while treating cause-effect relations in nature as customary events or occasions determined by divine volition. Commonly misapprehended as originating in Western philosophy it already appears in the texts of Muslim scholars of the Ash‘ari and Maturidi school in the 10th century, before being transmitted to Europe via the works of Averroes and Maimonides in the 13th century. Yet it was only in the 17th cen- tury among the Cartesian philosophers and most famously in the works of Nicolas Malebranche that the theory flourished and was taken seriously. Many of the great philosophers such as Gottfried W. Leibniz and David Hume authored their works in light of the occasionalist critique of other theories of causation, especially the much contested concept of natural causation as formulated by Aristotle. This book aims to reveal unexplored historical roots of occasionalism in the Islamic and Western traditions in an effort 2017 | 312 pages to contribute to the discussions centered around this theory. $24.99 pb As an attempt to reveal the historical roots and philosophical dimensions of occasionalism, this volume illustrates the $39.99 hb indispensability of this theory for those who want to understand the central discussions and dynamics within Islamic and modern Available from Amazon.com philosophy. Apart from showing the significance of occasionalism in both traditions, this book draws out the contours and the common ground for contemporary discussions on causation. contributors to the volume Fred Ablondi (Hendrix College); Marc Hight (Hampden Sydney College); Ozgur Koca (Claremont School of Theology); Edward samir mahmoud Omar Moad (Qatar University); Walter Ott (University of ali el-konaissi Virginia); Andrew Platt (Stony Brook University); Walter Schultz nazif muhtaro˘glu (University of Northwestern, St. Paul); J. Aaron Simmons mehmet bul˘gen (Furman University); Lisanne D’Andrea-Winslow (University of Northwestern, St. Paul); Aladdin Yaqub (Lehigh University) www.kalamresearch.com ARTICLES ads.qxp_Layout 1 1/8/18 1:33 PM Page 2 KRM PUBLICATIONS GOD, NATURE AND THE CAUSE Essays on Islam and Science Basil Altaie Yarmouk University, Jordan The philosophical conflict of religion and science is one of the most compelling and controversial issues today. Many intellectu- als, scholars and philosophers from the West representing Chris- tian and Jewish philosophical traditions have addressed this burning question but little has been heard from their counterparts in the Muslim tradition. What do Muslims have to say on the subject, and what is the relationship between modern scientific developments and Muslim belief? What is the Islamic tradition of kalam, and does it have anything to contribute to modern science and philosophy? These are some of the critical questions ad- dressed by Basil Altaie in his latest book God, Nature, and the Cause: Essays on Islam and Science. Altaie, physicist and philosopher rooted in classical Islamic theology, argues that the kalam tradition—Islam’s deepest philo- sophical expression—provides a number of insights that can cre- ate a greater understanding of modern physics, and reconcile the 2016 | 240 pages apparent clash between science and religion. In this riveting set of $24.99 pb essays, Altaie takes us from the early circles of Mu‘tazili and Ash‘ari kalam, to the universities of Western Europe, in a critical $39.99 hb survey that engages thinkers like Ash‘ari, Al-Ghazali, Ibn Sina, Aristotle, Newton, Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Laplace, Available from Amazon.com Schrödinger, and others. This is an unprecedented and fascinat- ing study, available in English for the first time through Kalam Research & Media. This book provides an important resource for practitioners of philosophy, science, and theology, and offers an invaluable and timely contribution on Islam and its interaction with modern science. Dr. Basil Altaie is Professor of Quantum Cosmology at Yarmouk University, Jordan. Over the last 30 years he has lectured on physics at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, teaching Quantum Field Theory, Quantum Mechanics, Classical Mechanics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Classical Electrodynamics, Quantum Electrodynamics, Scientific Thinking, Mathematical Physics, History and the Philosophy of Science. www.kalamresearch.com ads.qxp_Layout 1 1/8/18 1:33 PM Page 2 KRM PUBLICATIONS 3ARTICLES# GOD, NATURE AND THE CAUSE Beauty and Aesthetics in Classical Essays on Islam and Science Islamic Thought: An Introduction* Basil Altaie Yarmouk University, Jordan Samir Mahmoud | American University