God’s Omnipotence and Impossibility in al-Ghazālī and Thomas Aquinas
Journal Title: ULUM - Year 2018, Vol 1, Issue 1
Abstract
During the Middle Ages, most theological and philosophical works were translated into Latin language, such as Avicenna’s al-Shifā: Ilahiyāt(The Metaphysics of The Healing),al-Ghazālī’s Maqāsıd al-falāsifa(The Aims of Philosophers), and Averroes’s commentaries on Aristotle’s books. Thanks to these translations, Latin world have got acquainted with various controversial issues in the Islamic thought, such as whether “God knows particulars in their essence”, “whether God acts necessarily because of His nature” and “whether reason and revelation can be reconciled or not” conveyed into Latin West. In addition to these issues, Latin thinkers have also got to know the problem of what scope of God’s absolute power. In this paper, I tried to show the idea that God can do what is logically possible and this does not limit God’s absolute power was conveyed in to Latin West because of translation of Avicenna’s al-Shifāand al-Ghazālī’s Maqāsıdal-falāsifa. As far as I can see, there is drastic textual similarity between idea of al-Ghazālīand Thomas Aquinas about this matter. Based on the similarities between al-Ghazālīand Aquinas, it is highly probable that Aquinas’ idea about God’s power goes back to Islamic tradition.
Authors and Affiliations
Özcan AKDAĞ
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP442969
- DOI 10.5281/zenodo.1488221
- Views 133
- Downloads 0
An Overview of the Adventure of Meaning of Concept of Messiah within the Covenant Tradition
The concept of Messiah a basically reformed in Judaism and Christianity is the principal matter of this paper. This concept that was outlined by more humanely worries can be found in many cultures. Nonetheless the main p...
The Relation of Ḥanafī-Māturīdī Kalām System with Sufism in the Early Period (PhD. Dissertation)
the other is Sufism. Its relationship with both disciplines has been a decisive factor in shaping the agenda and interest of the Kalām in favour of the disciplines in question. Therefore, when trying to determine the his...
A Guide for Book Reviews
A book review is a multifaceted critical analysis of a book and an evaluation on the quality, value/meaning, significance, and contribution of the book to its own subject/field. It is not a report, summary, or advertisem...
Islamophobia in European Schools: A Multinational Phenomenological Research
This study, which aims to investigate the existence of Islamophobia in European schools, an important part of the social structure, is designed as a phenomenological study. Data were collected through interviews with 36...
Ibn Taymiyya’s Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics in Al-Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ/The Correct Response (PhD. Dissertation)
This thesis,Ibn Taymiyya’s Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics in Al-Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ/The Correct Response(PhD Dissertation, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, 2019), analyses how the renowned Ḥanbalī scholar Ibn Taymi...