A Better Argument for Tawhid?: Philosophical Discussions of Divine Attributes in the Sharh Al-'aqaid Tradition

This study focuses on al-Taftazani's discussion of the ontological status of divine attributes in his Sharh al-'Aqaid and aims to demonstrate that al-Razi's (d. 606/1210) reluctantly and ambiguously proposed formula that divine attributes are possible by themselves and necessary by God, which itself is an adaptation of Avicennian formula about the ontological status of the divine intellects, received much more recognition after a more sophisticated and advanced version of it was introduced to Sunni kalam tradition by al-Taftazani (d. 792/1390). His improvements generated a considerable amount of intellectual interest within the subsequent commentary and super-commentary tradition and were then refined by the later commentators, a crucial development which has been almost entirely neglected in the modern scholarship. This study further argues that the orientation of post-classical kalam extends to the point where it embraces a specific formula promoted by the Falasifa to refine Sunni theory about the ontological status of the divine attributes. Consequently, Sunni theology deliberately adapted a previously rejected theory to one of its most exclusive and core subjects, that is the discussion of the divine attributes. This study will also show that dramatic transformations in the approach and the structure indicate that Sunni kalam, especially in Sharh al-'Aqaid commentaries and super-commentaries, was significantly influenced by philosophical theories and was required to adopt both the vocabulary and the framework fashioned in philosophical debates on a greater scale after its first transformation due to al-Razi's influence. Because of the voluminous commentaries and super-commentaries on Sharh al-'Aqaid and their extended coverage of a variety of subjects, the current study limits itself to al-Taftazani's Sharh al-'Aqaid and its super-commentaries by Musa Khayali (d. 862/1457) and Ramazan Efendi al-Hanafi (d. 1025/1616?).