Foundations of Kalam and Their Manifestations in the Thought of Rukn al-Dīn al-Malāḥimī al-Khwārazmī: The Divine Existence as a Case Study

Abstract

 Some researchers may believe that Muʿtazilite thought ceased to exist and that its intellectual flow came to a halt with Qaḍi ʿAbd al-Jabbar al-Muʿtazili, after which its adherents shifted from Muʿtazilism to Zaydi Shiʿism. However, an examination of the history of Ilm al-Kalam, together with an investigation of the biographical literature—particularly the Ṭabaqat al-Muʿtazila—as well as works on sects and doctrines, and a survey of primary sources, reveals the presence of later theologians who revived Muʿtazilite Ilm al-Kalam. These scholars managed to propel the development of Muʿtazilite Ilm al-Kalam with new perspectives that diverged in certain respects from the doctrines of Qaḍi Abd al-Jabbar’s school. Among these was Abu al-Ḥusayn al-Baṣri and his indirect disciple, Rukn al-Din Ibn al-Malaḥimi al-Khwarazmi—a theologian who disrupted the intellectual stagnation of his milieu. Ibn al-Malaḥimi succeeded in consolidating the influence of Abū al-Ḥusayn al-Baṣri’s thought through an Ilm al-Kalam-based tripartite framework in which he encapsulated his core ideas, addressing the fundamental principles of Muʿtazilite doctrine in a striking manner. He brought renewed scholarly attention to his era’s theological issues, particularly in his defense of Islamic creed, as seen in his rebuttals to philosophers and adherents of other religions. Notably, he refuted the Brahmins, the Samanis, and other Indian religious traditions, as well as the Dahriyya—a sect that sought to deny the existence of Allah, prophetic missions, resurrection, and final judgment. This latter topic, which constitutes one of the most significant themes in Islamic Ilm al-Kalam and occupies a substantial portion of his theological writings, centers on demonstrating Allah’s existence through the argument from the origination (ḥudouth) of the world and its dependence on a Creator. The proof of Allah’s existence thus stands as both the title of the study and the focal point of its three main discussions.