| علم الكلام Al-Kalam
Explanation:
This is a traditional Islamic topic that should be left that way. No other term quite expresses the meaning, although it can be translated as "speculative theology."
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Note added at 15 mins (2005-04-11 07:27:49 GMT)
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Al-Kalam is a particular branch of Islamic theology that tackled some topics that many Muslim theologians felt had better be left alone. The field required the raising of questions to which there were no ready-made answers, so it led to a multiplicity of conflicting answers and the prospect of heresy. Those who refrained from participating in this speculative endeavor referred to those who engaged in it as المتكلمين, which was a disparaging epithet, meaning that they \"talked\" about things that were too sacrosanct to deal with in human language and that had not been explicitly talked about by the Prophet or his Companions.
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Note added at 2 hrs 2 mins (2005-04-11 09:14:53 GMT)
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Briefly commenting on the interesting discussion of Ahamd Wadan and Dr. Wathib Jabouri:
It is true that the term \"theology,\" although of a Western origin, can be, and has been, used across disparate traditions, including the Islamic tradition. In fact, the term \"theology\" has become so general in its common usage that, when applied to Al-Kalam, I think it ought to be delimited by some modifier to distinguish it from other closely related disciplines and traditions. I have suggested \"speculative\" because the modus operandi of this discipline is rational, human speculation, but I have seen other modifiers used as well. Reflecting again, I think \"Islamic speculative theology\" would be even more accurate in order to distinguish it from its Western counterpart(s). But no matter which English terms are used to explain Al-Kalam, I think that its unique history requires maintaining the term Al-Kalam.
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Note added at 21 hrs 8 mins (2005-04-12 04:21:22 GMT)
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To clarify even further why the unmodified term \"theology\" or \"Islamic theology\" would be be inappropriate as a direct translation of the term \"Al-Kalam,\" consider the fact that some great Muslim theologians, such as Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ibn Arabi, Al-Ghazali, Ibn Taymiya, Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya, and Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, were opposed to or at least uncomfortable with both the dialectical methods of al-Kalam and the conclusions of most of al-Mutakallimeen. Among the great Sunni theologians, only Abu al-Hasan al-Ash`ari felt fully comfortable engaging in the practice. Al-Ash`ari\'s early training was actually in the Mu`tazili school, hence his great skill in handling Kalam\'s dialectical method.
Muslims have a great theological tradition, and it would be a gross misrepresentation to label al-Kalam as the sole embodiment of that tradition. In general, Muslims practice theology by elucidating the central Qur\'anic propositions about the Creator and the universe, using the established principles of Qur\'anic exegesis, relying on the Sunna as the main source of illumination, and appealing to common sense. Theology thus practiced is called \"Tawheed.\" Its singular theme is the absolute oneness of the Most High.
Al-Kalam, therefore, is a special branch of Islamic theology. Its content is clearly theological, but it is not the sole embodiment of the Islamic theological tradition.
| Fuad Yahya
Works in field
Native speaker of:  Arabic, English
PRO pts in category: 231
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peer agreement (net): +2