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The concept of mercy: Approaches in Islamic theology
Vol. 2 No. 2 (2023)The name of God “al-Raḥmān” The Merciful has roots in the Semitic languages. One of its meanings is “the loving God”. The Qur’ān has come to reinforce this meaning found in biblical texts and by intertextuality with them, as it distinguishes between the name of God “al-Raḥīm”, in the sense of mercy that forgives sins; and between “al-Raḥmān”, in the sense of love, which is a position that goes beyond mere compassion or forgiveness. The Qur’ān also intersects more closely with the New Testament, focusing on this latent meaning as the basis of the relationship between God and humans, where divine mercy is directed towards the love of humanity. This allows for the establishment of a theology of mercy, as is the case with the theology of love in the texts of the New Testament.
Can we today discuss the divine mercy as the foundation of the relationship between God and humans? And within which horizon can we do that?
Through this issue, we aim to reintroduce the concept of mercy to the Islamic theological debate, not in search of a mu'tazili, ash'ari or maturidi establishment of the concept of mercy, but rather to investigate in the history of ideas the reasons for the absence of mercy in the intellectual construction of Islamic discourse, and to search for other possibilities of establishing theological categories, including the “theology of mercy” on “the Bounds of Bare Reason”.
Münster Journal of Islamic and Philosophical Studies hopes that this issue will provide an opportunity for discussion among scholars interested in furthering the study of mercy from various theological and philosophical perspectives.
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On the critical reading of tradition: Contemporary approaches
Vol. 2 No. 1 (2023)Successive political events in the MENA region have negatively affected Muslim communities and the image of Islam in the world. Such questions as: Is there Enlightenment in Islam? and can Islam be reformed? have become common questions in both the public and academic domain.
The answers varied and multiplied, but they often take two main directions: The first proves the originality of enlightenment in Islam, and that it is an intrinsic characteristic of it, then they separate in defining the field of enlightenment thought in Islamic civilization; The second approach denies the relationship of Islam to enlightenment on the grounds that enlightenment is linked to a historical context and particular conditions, which have not been realised in the Islamic world.
According to the second view, could the Islamic tradition -especially the jurisprudential one associated with authority and the theological one limiting human condition, the reason for the postponement of the Enlightenment question, hence the failure of Islam to assimilate the idea of renewal and reform?
What comes to mind at first glance is the connection of the concept of enlightenment with the concepts of reform and renewal, and then the connection of all these concepts with reason, or to be more precise, with a critical reading of tradition.
From this perspective, we have decided to take up the question we presented in the special issue of the first volume (2022), so that the topic of this issue is: "On the critical reading of tradition: contemporary approaches", which will deal with a number of contemporary debates that have formed, and still form, the basis on which discussions of Islam's relationship to enlightenment, reform and renewal arise.
The presentation of these debates is an opportunity to open a scientific and academic debate on them and the issues they raise, to consider their limits and their potential.
