An Account and Analysis of the View of the Divine Essence and Possible Beings as Subject-Matters of Kalām and Replies to Objections

Early scholars of kalām (Islamic theology) believed that the subject-matter of kalām was the same as that of Islamic philosophy and mysticism: being qua being. In contrast to this, other notions have also been proposed as subject-matters of kalām, including the divine essence and attributes. The idea of essence was proposed by some Sunni theologians such as Qāḍī al-Urmawī, and the idea of essence plus possible beings as subject-matters of kalām was reported by the author of al-Ṣaḥāʾif fī ʿilm al-kalām in his introduction to the precious work Shawāriq al-ilhām. In this article, I adopt a descriptive-analytic method and draw on the introduction to Shawāriq al-ilhām to account for, analyze, and support this view and to replies to objections raised against it. Moreover, as corollaries of the research, I aim to reconcile the view with that of the early theologians, and finally, show that issues of Islamic theology are in harmony with issues of Islamic philosophy and mysticism at different levels.