DEBATES ON CAUSALITY IN ISLAMIC KALAM AND MODERN PHYSICS: A Comparison Between the Theory of.ab. and the Soft-Deterministic Interpretations of Quantum Theory

The aim of this article is to discuss the causality concepts of Muslim scholars (mutakallimun) in terms of modern physics theories and to shed light on the ongoing debates in this context. It is possible to say that there are three attitudes about causality in the Islamic kalam. The first one is the concepts that adopt the principle of causality based on the theory of nature (tab.); the second is the concepts of Asharites that deny causality and explain the relations between entities in the universe with the concept of possibility based on the theory of custom ('adah), and the third one is the understanding of the Basra school, which accepts causality in some subjects and explains some issues with the concept of 'adah. In modern physics, a similar divergence is seen between Newtonian determinist understandings and indeterminist understandings based on Quantum uncertainty. In some recent research, it is argued that there are significant similarities between the principle of quantum uncertainty and the theory of custom. In this article, the causality conceptions of mutakallimun are addressed with the context of the theories of.adah and.ab.. Then analyzes are made on the aspects of these understandings that match and diverge with the idea of causality implied by modern physics. Consequently, a new reading is suggested, taking into account modern physics, based on the theories of mutakallimun who accept natures and causality in natural beings-especially Abu Ishaq al-Nazzam (d. 231/845)-.