Univers15

Prof. Gjergj Sinani
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY IN ISLAM
summary in english
u n i v e r s
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To understand the metaphysical and theological thought of
the Islamic humanist thinkers, we must first stick to two terms:
falsafeh and kalam. Falsafeh (philosophy) was a movement that
led to the emerging of personalities such as al-Kindi, al-Farabi,
Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Ibn Rushid (Averroes). What is the
meaning of this intellectual movement in Islam? Previously it
should be noted that falasifa are not theologians. Their attitude
will encourage the reaction of asharits, but their impact would
be enormous. Although their theses were considered suspicious,
some of their theses would affect the processing of theology
in a decisive way. “Islamic Sciences” are associated with the
theocracy established by Muhammad and Islam was presented
not as an absolute beginning, but as a new behavior in relation to
the countries where it would be spread.
Six centuries ago, Christ had proclaimed the “new message”
in Jerusalem, in the towns and villages of Palestine, but his
message was presented as a fulfillment of the Law and the
Prophets. His Gospel was a continuation of the Old Testament.
His Disciples, early Jewish and then “Gentiles” (so were called the
foreigners, pagans, people in the Bible. At the beginning, Apostle
Paul was called the Apostle of the Gentiles), belonging to all the
social classes, but, above all, they were in a characteristic cultural
atmosphere and climate: Hellenic culture. With the Philon and
the School of Alexandria, the Bible had already met Plato and
the ancient knowledge and Christianity was open to the Greek
thought and the Roman world.
Quite the opposite happened in Islam, whatever be the
Judeo-Christian traditions reflected in it. Quran appears in the
opinion of its “transmitter” as a return of Abrahamic revelation
to the authentic message of God. This revelation is not accepted