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The Natural Laws Manifest Divine Programming

By Sajid Mahmood Ansari
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In the Name of Allah---the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. The Natural Laws Manifest Divine Programming Introduction Modern science is built upon one of the most remarkable assumptions about reality: the universe is intelligible because it operates according to consistent laws . Gravity behaves according to recognizable mathematical relationships; electromagnetic phenomena follow precise rules; matter interacts according to reproducible physical and chemical principles; biological organisms function through extraordinarily complex systems; and celestial bodies move according to predictable patterns. Science does not create these laws. It discovers, describes, and mathematically formulates the regularities already present in nature. This raises a deeper philosophical question: Why does the universe possess laws at all? Why is nature orderly, measurable, mathematically intelligible, and sufficiently stable for rational beings to discover its structure? From the Islamic perspective, t...
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The Four Domains of Taqdīr: From Creation to Moral Choice and Ultimate Fate

By Sajid Mahmood Ansari
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In the Name of Allah---the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. The Four Domains of Taqdīr: From Creation to Moral Choice and Ultimate Fate Introduction The doctrine of Qadar (Divine Decree) is among the most profound and, at the same time, most frequently misunderstood subjects in Islamic theology. The difficulty arises partly because several distinct dimensions of Divine determination are often compressed into a single statement: "Everything has already been decreed." That statement is true, but by itself it does not explain what has been decreed, at what level it has been decreed, and how Divine decree relates to human choice and responsibility . This is particularly important when discussing the relationship between Qadar and human freedom. If the entire subject is reduced to the assertion that Allah has already determined the final destiny of every person, the listener may easily arrive at a deterministic conception resembling Jabr : the idea that human beings are merely...
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Ibn Taymiyyah’s Most Rational Treatise

By Sajid Mahmood Ansari
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In the Name of Allah---the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. Ibn Taymiyyah’s Most Rational Treatise Ibn Taymiyyah’s monumental work موافقة صحيح المنقول لصريح المعقول is one of the most important books in the Islamic intellectual tradition on the relationship between reason ( ʿaql ) and revelation ( naql ) . It is more commonly known by its shorter title: درء تعارض العقل والنقل Darʾ Taʿāruḍ al-ʿAql wa al-Naql and its full title is: موافقة صحيح المنقول لصريح المعقول A close rendering of the full title would be: “The Harmony of Soundly Transmitted Revelation with Clear Rational Judgment.” The alternative title Darʾ Taʿāruḍ al-ʿAql wa al-Naql means: “Repelling the Alleged Conflict between Reason and Revelation.” 1. The central thesis The fundamental thesis of the book is remarkably simple: There can be no genuine contradiction between authentic revelation and sound reason. According to Ibn Taymiyyah, Allah is the Creator both of the human intellect and of the revealed guidance . There...
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