Proofs for the Existence of God in the Thought of Mustafa Sabri and Tahir ibn Ashur: An Analytical and Comparative Study

Abstract

One of the most pressing issues in the intellectual arena today concerns humanity's need for religion in general, and Islam in particular. The nineteenth century witnessed a denial of this need, and it became prevalent in the West—and in some scientific circles in the East following the West—that humanity had reached a stage where it no longer needed religion. Religion's most fundamental component is the conception of a transcendent being that believers hold sacred. Therefore, we find theologians and scholars of creed paying attention to rational proofs for God's existence, while those who opposed the need for religion criticized the very conception and existence of God. The pace of denying God has increased over the past century or two. Hence, the need to demonstrate God's existence remains a perpetual, eternal necessity. We have chosen two prominent Muslim theologians to study their methods of proving God's existence and to compare between them: Mustafa Sabri (d. 1373 AH / 1954 CE) and Ibn Ashur (d. 1393 AH / 1973 CE). These two were born in the nineteenth century  and lived in relatively close periods when the Islamic nation faced existential challenges and suffered calamities, and both were among those who remained vigilant for the Islamic community. Sheikh Mustafa Sabri specifically critiqued modern Western philosophers and evaluated their criticisms directed at theologians' methods of proving God's existence. It is therefore scientifically necessary to bring these two together, highlighting each one's approach to this aspect of theology—namely, proving God's existence. For this reason, I have chosen this comparative study between them.

Keywords: Ilm-e-Kalam, Islamic Theology, Proof for Existence of God, Ibn Ashur, Tafsir al-Tahrir wa'l-Tanwir