An intensive exploring how one of the Islamic intellectual tradition’s most sophisticated theologians argued for the existence of God.

[PLEASE NOTE - The course is BOTH in person ONSITE in London and for those who can not attend in person can purchase the LIVE ONLINE STREAMING ticket to watch it from their device and those coming in person, should you not decide to attend person on the day or half the day, you will still recieve a link to the live online streaming, irrespective but are encouraged to attend in person if you have registered for that ticket, as this helps with allows room allocation, respectively for fellow participants].

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Islamic Courses present:

AL-RAZI'S PROOFS FOR GOD’S EXISTENCE [TAKEN FROM THE MAʿĀLIM UṢŪL AL-DĪN]

With

Dr Shoaib Ahmed Malik [Lecturer in Science and Religion, Edinburgh University, UK]

Date: Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd November 2026

Time: 9am - 6pm on Saturday and 9am - 3pm on Sunday

Venue: Ebrahim College, 399-401 High Street, Stratford, London E15 4QZ

Al-Rāzī’s Proofs for God’s Existence is a two-day intensive exploring how one of the Islamic intellectual tradition’s most sophisticated theologians argued for the existence of God.

Imam Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī’s stands at a particularly significant point in the history of Islamic thought. He inherited the classical Ashʿarī kalām tradition while also engaging deeply with the philosophical system of Ibn Sīnā. His writings therefore provide a remarkable window into a period in which the categories and arguments of theology and philosophy were increasingly brought into direct conversation.

Across seven structured lessons, the course will introduce the intellectual background needed to understand Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī’s arguments before examining the proofs themselves. We will begin with the development of Ashʿarī theology and its distinctive ontology, before turning to the alternative philosophical framework associated with Ibn Sīnā. This provides the foundation for understanding questions surrounding causation, circularity, infinite regress, necessity, possibility, and contingency.

The second half of the course focuses directly on the major arguments for God’s existence, including the contingency argument, the kalām cosmological argument, and arguments from specification and design. Particular attention will be given to how the arguments are constructed, what each one is intended to establish, and how al-Rāzī draws upon and reshapes both kalām and philosophical traditions.

The aim is to move beyond simply memorising proofs. Participants will learn how the arguments work from the inside and why the conceptual assumptions behind them matter.

The seven lessons cover: History of Ashʿarī Theology; Ashʿarī Ontology; Avicennian Ontology; Circular Causation and Infinite Regress; The Contingency Argument; The Kalām Cosmological Argument; Specification and Design Arguments

Participants will receive the relevant Arabic primary text, an English translation, and dedicated student handouts summarising all seven lessons.

The principal text for the weekend will be Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī’s Maʿālim uṣūl al-dīn, one of his important works of systematic theology.

Al-Rāzī stands at a particularly significant point in the history of Islamic thought. He inherited the classical Ashʿarī kalām tradition while also engaging deeply with the philosophical system of Ibn Sīnā. His writings therefore provide a remarkable window into a period in which the categories and arguments of theology and philosophy were increasingly brought into direct conversation.

The section studied during this course presents a range of arguments concerning the existence of God and allows us to see al-Rāzī reasoning through questions of contingency, causality, cosmology, and the specification of the world.

Students will work directly with the relevant Arabic passages rather than encountering al-Rāzī only through secondary summaries. A translation will also be provided, so knowledge of Arabic is helpful but not required to benefit from the course.

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About the course presenter: *Dr Shoaib Ahmed Malik[Lecturer in Science and Religion, Edinburgh University ], where his is teaching and r

Description supplied by the event organiser.