A Study of Divine Power in Abu al-Ḥasan al-Ashʻarī and Khwājah Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī with an Emphasis on Mullā Ṣadrā’s Philosophical Explanation
Subject Areas : Studies on Islamic philosophy and wisdomMohammad Kazem Rezazadeh Joudi 1 , Fatemeh Ashouri 2
1 - Assistant Professor, Islamic Philosophy and Wisdom Department, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran
2 - PhD Candidate of Islamic Philosophy and Kalam, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran
Keywords: divine attributes, Divine Power, human free will, Abu al-Ḥasan Ashʻarī, Khwājah Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī,
Abstract :
The discussion of the attributes of Almighty Necessary is one of the important issues in the field of theology in the history of Islamic philosophy. Among them, the attribute of power has received different interpretations in various semantic and ontological fields. Some of the important questions that have resulted in disagreements between mutikallimūn and philosophers often concern the reality of divine attributes. The attribute of divine power, since it is related to both the attributes of divine knowledge and will and human agency and will, has created various discussions among mutikallimūn. This paper analytically examines the views of two theologians, Abul al-Ḥasan al-Ashʻarī and Khwājah Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī, regarding divine power and the related issues in semantic and ontological realms. In semantics, it addresses “the origination and pre-eternity of the world” and the actuality or essentiality of divine power, and in the ontological domain, it explores the universality of divine power and the quality of its inclusion of human acts and the place of human will and free choice. This study was conducted following library and descriptive-analytical methods.