Kumūn, İstiḥāla, and Khalq: Three Concepts in Ibn Ḥazm's Cosmology

Abstract

The Kalām’s cosmology essentially depends on the theory of atomism which suggests that everything in the world is composed of atoms and accidents inherent in atoms, all created by God. Atomism is, however, not the only theory of nature in kalām to support creationism. An alternative theory to it is the theory of latency, kumūn, which is formulated in the two different versions, the comprehensive and the limited one, and is mostly attributed to Muʿtazilī theologian al- Naẓẓām. Nevertheless this theory is not accepted by all opponents of atomism like Ibn Ḥazm. The present article attempts to examine Ibn Ḥazm’s views on the theory of latency in particular, and on the creation in general with a comparison to al-Naẓẓām’s ideas, and also to seek Ibn Ḥazm’s cosmology in the three key concepts: latency (kumūn), transformation (istiḥāla), and creation (khalq). The article points out that although Ibn Ḥazm gives some examples in accordance with the theory of latency, it does not mean that he approves the theory attributed to al-Naẓẓām as a whole with its theoretical background.

Keywords

• Ibn Ḥazm
• al-Naẓẓām
• theory of latency (kumūn)
• transformation (istiḥāla)
• creation (khalq)

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