God, Logic and Lies: Intra-Ḥanafī Polemics on Divine Omnipotence in Colonial India

Year 2023, Volume: 21 Issue: 3, 960 - 983, 31.12.2023

Safaruk Chowdhury

https://doi.org/10.18317/kaderdergi.1360521

Abstract

This article is the first logical exploration of a major Islamic theological controversy regarding divine omnipotence (qudra) emerging in early 19th century northern India and persists today. The controversy involved two interconnected propositions. The first is known as ‘imkān-e naẓīr’, which is the proposition that God is able to create another identical Prophet Muḥammad. The second dubbed ‘ikmān-e kidhb’, is the possibility of God being able to lie or say untruths. The article will examine the arguments of two formidable scholars. The first is the one who detonated the controversy Shah Ismail Dihlawi (d. 1831) who argues for the possibility of God to actualise an identical Muḥammad and to lie and the second is his opponent and archnemesis Fazl-e Haqq Khayrabadi (d. 1861), who vehemently rejects both possibilities. The focus of the article is a detailed logical analysis of the structure and premises of the arguments as well as the core modal concepts assumed in the debate.

Keywords

Kalam, Logic, Divine omnipotence, Imkān-e naẓīr, Ikmān-e kidhb, Northern India

Allah, Mantık ve Yalan: Koloniyal Hindistan'da İlahi Kudret Hakkında Hanefilik İçi Polemikler

Abstract

Bu makale, 19. yüzyılın başlarında Kuzey Hindistan’da ortaya çıkan ve günümüze kadar devam eden, ilahî kudret hakkında önemli bir kelâmî ihtilafı ele alan ilk mantık araştırmasıdır. İhtilaf, birbiriyle bağlantılı iki tez içermektedir. İlk tez "imkān-i naẓīr" olarak bilinir ve bu, Allah’ın Hz. Muhammed'in aynısını yaratabilmesidir. İkinci tez ise "ikmān-i kızb" olarak adlandırılır ve Allah’ın yalan söyleme veya gerçeğe aykırı şeyler söyleme olasılığını hakkındadır. Makale, iki güçlü düşünürün argümanlarını inceleyecektir. İlk olarak, tartışmayı başlatan Shah İsmail Dihlawi (ö. 1831), Allah’ın benzer bir Muhammed'i yaratabilme ve yalan söyleyebilme olasılığını savunan argümanlar sunar. İkinci olarak, karşıt görüşteki ve baş rakibi Fazl-e Haqq Khayrabadi (ö. 1861), her iki olasılığı da kesin bir şekilde reddeder. Makale, argümanların yapısının ve öncüllerinin yanı sıra tartışmada deruhte edilen temel modal kavramların ayrıntılı mantıksal analizine odaklanmaktadır.

Keywords

Kelâm, Mantık, İlahî kudret, İmkān-ı naẓīr, İkmān-ı kizb, Kuzey Hindistan

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