Kalam

 

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Kalam (Arabic: کلام ) is one of the "religious sciences" (علم الكلم) of Islam. In Arabic the word means "speaking". There are many interpretations of why it was called "kalam"; one of them is that the widest controversy in this field was about Allah's speech. "Kalam" refers to the Islamic tradition of seeking theological principles through dialectic. A scholar of kalam is referred to as a mutakallim (Muslim theologian; plural mutakallimiin).

The original scholars of kalam were recruited by Hunayn Ibn Ishaq (d. 873 AD) for the House of Wisdom under the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad.

Types of theology

Muslim theology is the theology that derived from the Qur'an and the Prophetic traditions. The contents of Muslim theology can be divided into theology proper, theodicy, eschatology, anthropology, apophatic theology, and comparative religion. These branches or divisions can be found in the Qur'an and the Prophetic traditions.

Theology proper

Theology proper refers to the nature of Allah such as his essence and attributes and his relation with humans and other created beings, the relationship between the creator and the created.

Eschatology

Eschatology is literally understood as the last things or ultimate things and in Muslim theology, eschatology refers to the end of this world and what will happen in the next world or hereafter. Eschatology covers the death of human beings, their souls after their bodily death, the total destruction of this world, the resurrection of human souls, the final judgments of human deeds by Allah after the resurrection, and the rewards and punishments for the believers and non-believers respectively. The places for the believers in the hereafter are known as Paradise and for the non-believers as Hell.

Theological anthropology

Anthropology or theological anthropology in Muslim theology focuses on the natures and purposes of human beings created by Allah to live in this world. Apophatic theology deals with what Allah is not. It is also known as negative theology.

Comparative religion

Comparative religion in Muslim theology is about the differences and similarities between Muslim theology and other theologies such as Christian, Jewish theologies as explained in the Qur'an and the Prophetic traditions.

Differences between various Muslim groups

General overview

In the history of Muslim theology, there have been theological schools among Muslims such as the Salafis, the Ash`arites, the Mu`tazilites and the Hanbalites. Those who have studies those Muslim theological schools surely have found some similarities and difference in their approaches to the theological contents and concepts derived from the Qur'an and the Prophetic traditions.

Sunni view

Sunni Muslims hold that there are six articles of belief namely belief in Allah or God, his angels, his books, his prophets, eschatology, and the values or standards of goodness and badness or evil are from Allah.

Shia view

There are differences also among Muslims in defining the contents of Islamic articles of belief. The Shi`ite Muslims hold that there are five articles of belief namely the Divine Oneness and Justice, the Prophethood, the Imamate, and eschatology.

Mu`tazilite view

Mu`tazilites emphasize more on human free will in human relation with Allah meanwhile those who opposed the Mu`tazilites emphasize on human predestination in human relation with Allah. The Mu`tazilites give priority to God's justice while their opponents give priority to God's omnipotence when they talk about the relationship between human beings and their creator.

Major kalam schools

• Ash'ari
• Imami
• Maturidi
• Murji'ah
• Mu'tazili

See also

• Fiqh
• Jewish Kalam
• Kalam cosmological argument
• Madhab
• Qadr (doctrine)

External links

• Philosophy of Kalam — textbook by Harry Wolfson
• Living Islam
• The Kalam
• Kalam Cosmological Argument

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