Is Our View of Allah A Hellenistic View?
-
Mu'tazilah endeavored ot defend Islam against Hellenistic philosophy. But eventually all anthropomorphic language and ideas about Allah was interpreted as purely metaphorical.
Is Our View of Allah A Hellenistic View? Should Plato and Aristotle be the sharper of our reality?
http//www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/rep/H001.htm
http//www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/rep/H002http//www.john-uebersax.com/plato/ip7.gif
-
Mu'tazilah endeavored ot defend Islam against Hellenistic philosophy. But eventually all anthropomorphic language and ideas about Allah was interpreted as purely metaphorical. Is Our View of Allah A Hellenistic View? Should Plato and Aristotle be the sharper of our reality?
I think you're right, Greek philosophy has had a major influence on the interpretation of the Quran, as it did with Byzantine Christians in their understanding of the Bible. Two examples that come to mind are The unity of God, and the divinity of the Quran. The former is very neoplatonic in its rejection of real distinctions in God, so that in essence the attributes of God come to be used as synonyms, rather than truly different concepts. The Mu'tazailah, from what I understand, are really at the extreme of this spectrum denying that the attributes say anything real about God, but rather are simply "created" manifestations, and that God is fundamentally undefinable and unknowable. Anyways, it's an interesting topic because whether people acknowledge it, or not, philosophy plays an essential role in how everyone interprets texts. What seems like such a natural reading, can be filled with philosophical eisegesis.
-
Salam,
Or God just simply says what He means, and means what He says.
When He says He is The Forgiver, The Redeemer, The Hearer, The Knower, The Almighty etc its pretty simple to understand. In my 17 years as a Quranist Muslim I have seen a lot of people simply confuse themselves trying to read more into the text than there is instead of just applying the teachings to their lives.
He did say He made the Quran easy to learn and I don't think He lied.
-
Mr. Q, No one said Allah lied about his self the argument is how see him now. From mind of Plato since matter is flawed and motral, there is no material element in God.
Plato---God is supremely real and supremely good. Matter is least real and least good. Therefore God must be immaterial. -
I will not go to far into this because of the Backfire Effect
The Misconception When your beliefs are challenged with facts, you alter your opinions and incorporate the new information into your thinking.The Truth When your deepest convictions are challenged by contradictory evidence, your beliefs get stronger.
I guess when says he has hands,feet,shins,eyes, ears they are all immaterial body parts.!!
-
Salam,
"Facts" are often open to opinion.
God doesn't have hands, feet, a mouth, etc. Those things are creations of this universe. They are allegories just like everything described in Heaven is an allegory. God uses terms we are familiar with and can relate to so that we can understand. See 1335 and 4715.
God says "Be" to anything and it is. He doesn't use "hands" like we have. He doesn't "speak" with lungs and vocal cords like we have. He doesn't walk with legs and feet like we do. He is the Creator and those things are creations. They are simply allegories that we could relate to, not His actual substance. His attributes are more about who He is, not what He is made of.
Does trying to figure out if God is "material" or "immaterial" help anyone lead a Righteous life or apply His teachings to our lives? I don't see that as being helpful, only a distraction.
-
Salam,
Brother, please don't think I am advocating against gaining knowledge. Not at all. I am only saying to be careful that seeking or finding such knowledge won't distract you from what's really important and wont just confuse the Religion for you. That's all I am saying.