The question of origin •
Maimonides (d. 1204) believed that the Kalām was actually of Christian origin and only later became known to Muslims through translations.
Franz August Schmölders rejected this theory as implausible as early as 1840 in his
Essai sur les écoles philosophiques chez les Arabes. • According to Ibn Khaldūn (d. 1406), the science of kalam arose from the fact that disagreements about the details of the doctrines of faith arose in the period after the first Muslims. Most of these disagreements were, in his opinion, caused by ambiguous Quranic verses (
Muḥkam and Mutashabih). They led to dispute, disputation and rational argumentation. •
Mohammed Abed al-Jabri (d. 2010) assumes that the Kalam arose in the middle of the 7th century, immediately after the arbitration that ended the war between
Ali ibn Abi Talib and
Mu'awiya. During this period, Arab political discourse began to use religion as a mediator. The various parties sought religious legitimacy for their positions, which was the first step in the theoretical formation of what was later called the science of Kalam. Thus, in its historical reality, this science is not just a discourse on the doctrine of faith, but a "practice of politics in religion". In fact, the origins of the kalām are obscure. This is also due to the fact that the specifically theological meaning of the words kalām and mutakallim was very slow to gain acceptance. Mutakallim initially only referred to a "speaker with a specific function". In the anonymous
Aḫbār al-ʿAbbās wa-waladihī, which dates from the eighth century, it is reported that when
Abu Muslim (d. 755) wanted to establish himself in
Merv, he sent mutakallimūn from his followers into the city to win the population over to their cause and make it clear to them that they were following the
Sunnah and acting according to the truth.
Shlomo Pines has concluded that the term originally arose in Abū Muslim's army and referred to political and religious propagandists such as the
Dawah. However, there are reports that indicate that the culture of kalām existed before this. The Arab historian Abu Zakariya al-Azdi (d. 945) cites a report according to which the Umayyad caliph
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (r. 717–720) is said to have said: "I have argued and spoken with the people. Indeed, I love to speak with the
Shia." The fact that the verb kallama is used here for "to speak with", from which the word kalām is derived, is seen by
Josef van Ess as an indication that the specifically theological meaning of the kalām concept may have already developed at this time. According to a report quoted in the
Kitab al-Aghani by
Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani (d. 967), there were six representatives of the Kalam (aṣḥāb al-kalām) in
Basra: the two
Muʿtazilites Amr ibn Ubayd and
Wasil ibn Ata, the poet
Bashshar ibn Burd, Salih ibn Abd al-Quddus and Abdul Karim bin Abi Al-Awja', and a man from the tribe of
Azd who was inclined towards Sumanīya, an Indian doctrine, and who made his house available to the group for their meetings. Since Wāsil died around 748, the Kalām must have existed in the late Umayyad period if this report is authentic. In two narrations cited by
Abdullah Ansari (d. 1089),
Amr ibn Ubayd is identified as the one who "invented these innovations of kalām".
Abu Hanifa is said to have cursed ʿAmr ibn ʿUbaid for "opening the way for people to speak (kalām) about what it is not their business to speak about."
Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328), on the other hand, believed that the special type of argumentation that characterizes the Kalam first appeared at the beginning of the second Islamic century with Jaʿd ibn Dirham (d. 724) and
Jahm bin Safwan (d. 746). From them it then reached
Amr ibn Ubayd and
Wasil ibn Ata. According to the Ottoman scholar
Taşköprüzade (d. 1561), the spread of the Kalam began as early as the year 100 of the Hijra (= 718/19 AD) through the
Muʿtazila and the
Qadariya, with Wasil ibn Ata again playing the decisive role. However, neither Wasil ibn Ata nor any other persons mentioned here have recorded book titles or sayings that indicate that they themselves used the term kalām as a name for a particular science or knowledge culture. According to a report quoted by
al-Masudi (d. 956) in his work
The Meadows of Gold, the Abbasid caliph
al-Mahdi (r. 775–785) was the first ruler to commission Mutakallimūn representing
Islam to write books against
Mulhid from the circle of the
Manichaeans,
Bardesanites and
Marcionites and to refute their arguments. The reason for this was that at that time writings of these groups had spread and were being translated from New Persian and
Middle Persian into Arabic.
Formative years In early Islam, the
Ahl al-Kalām or "Kalamites" essentially referred to the
Muʿtazila. Historian
Daniel W. Brown describes
Ahl al-Kalām as one of three main groups engaged in polemical disputes over sources of authority in Islamic law during the second century of Islam: the ''
Ahl al-Ra'y and Ahl al-Hadith being the other two. (Brown also describes the Muʿtazila as "the later ahl al-Kalām
", suggesting the ahl al-Kalām'' were forerunners of the Muʿtazilites.) In the times of the
Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258 AD), the discipline of Kalām arose in an "attempt to grapple" with several "complex problems" early in the
history of Islam, according to historian Majid Fakhry. One was how to rebut arguments "leveled at Islam by pagans, Christians and Jews". Later schools of Kalam like the
Kullabis,
Asharites and
Maturidis representing as
Sunni Islam would develop systems that would defend the core orthodox creedal points of Islam completely on rational grounds, and were open to engaging in kalam in accordance to the
Quran and
Sunnah. This was unlike the
Mutazilites, whose kalam instead prioritised reason over revelation to the point where the Quran and hadith would only be accepted if it aligned with their interpretation of rationalism.
Ibn Battah has recorded in his work,
Al-Ibāna , that Ahmad ibn Hanbal has instructed his students of total academic boycott against the scholars of kalam. Furthermore, Ahmad ibn Hanbal also recorded engaged in long debates against the leading Mu'tazilite and
qadi of caliphate,
Ahmad ibn Abi Du'ad, regarding the said matter about the nature of Quran. The
Hanbali scholars and followers of Ahmad ibn Hanbal rarely mention about kalam in their teaching, as they consider it as
bid'ah (innovation), and its practitioners are
zanādiqa (heretics). The caliph also attempted to reconcile with Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and finally, in March 852, he ordered that all prisoners held on account of the inquisition against the Sunnis be released.
Early Abbasids According to
Al-Shahrastani, the golden age of the science of kalam began with the caliphs
Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809),
al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833),
al-Mu'tasim (r. 833–842),
al-Wathiq (r. 842–847) and
al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861) and ended in the time of
Sahib ibn Abbad, who served as vizier of the
Buyids of
Ray from 979 to 995. One of the most important promoters of kalam discussions in the early Abbasid period was the
Barmakid Yahya ibn Khalid, who served as
vizier under
Harun al-Rashid.
Al-Yaʿqūbī (d. after 905) reports that he loved kalam and discussion (Naẓar), and that in his days the mutakallimūn became numerous and they debated with each other and wrote books. Al-Yaʿqūbī cites
Hisham ibn al-Hakam and
Dirar ibn Amr (d. 815) as examples of mutakallimīn of this period. According to a report quoted by
Ibn Babawayh,
Yahya ibn Khalid used to hold a discussion group (maǧlis) at his place on Sundays, in which mutakallimūn from every sect (firqa) and religious community (milla) participated, who then debated with each other about their religions and put forward arguments against each other. This discussion group is also mentioned by al-Masʿūdī . According to his report, many Islamic mutakallimūn participated in this discussion, including
Muʿtazilites such as
Abu l-Hudhail,
Ibrahim al-Nazzam and
Bishr ibn al-Muʿtamir,
Imamites such as
Hisham ibn al-Hakam, one
Kharijite and one
Murjite each, as well as representatives of other worldviews and faiths, including the Mobed of the
Zoroastrians. The Caliph
al-Ma'mun also distinguished himself by promoting the Kalam.
Al-Yaʿqūbī reports that he openly professed the "People of Monotheism and Justice" (Ahl al-Tawhid wal 'Adl), that is, the Muʿtazila, attracted Mutakallimūn to his court and paid them maintenance so that their numbers increased. Each one, explains al-Yaʿqūbī, wrote books to defend his own doctrine and to refute his opponents.
Al-Jahiz (d. 869), who wrote one of the first treatises on the kalam, praised the art of the kalam as a "precious jewel" (juhar tamīn), as "the treasure that never perishes" (al-kanz allaḏī lā yafnā wa-lā yablā) and as the "companion who does not bore and does not deceive". It is the standard for every other art, the rein for every expression, the scales with which one can clarify the lack or excess of every thing, and the filter with which one can recognize the purity or impurity of every thing. All scholars depend on it, and it is the tool and model for every acquisition. What could be more important than something without which one cannot prove the glory of God or prophethood, and without which one cannot distinguish the true argument from the false argument and the proof from the false proof. The kalam makes it possible to distinguish the community (jama'a) from the sect (firqa) and the
Sunnah from the
Bid'ah. Al-Jahiz also compares the kalam to a border fortress, the defence of which requires great personal commitment. It is like a border fortress because all people are hostile towards its followers. Whoever gives this science its due can expect a corresponding reward. [ 85 ] Al-Jāhiz praises the Mutakallimūn for remaining loyal to their discipline out of conviction of its high value, despite the rejection that their discipline experiences in society, and for even being willing to accept the sacrifice of poverty and lack of career opportunities as a
Qadi. In another writing,
al-Jahiz stated that without the Kalam, there would be no religion for God and no one would be distinguished from the heretics . There would be no difference between falsehood and truth and no separation between a prophet and a mere pretender to prophethood. Argument could not be distinguished from deceit and proof could not be distinguished from apparent proof. The art of the Kalam was preferable to every other art and education, which is why it was made the standard for all philosophical speculation and the basis of every
syllogism. It was only held in such high esteem because every scholar needed it and could not do without it.
10th and 11th centuries: Spread from Iraq to the east and west Until the early 10th century, the Kalam was essentially limited to
Iraq and
Greater Khorasan . A very important center of the Kalam culture was the Muʿtazilite stronghold of ʿAskar Mukram in
Khuzistan, the place of work of
Al-Jubba'i and his son
Abu Hashim al-Jubba'i. The geographer Ibn Hauqal (d. 977) reports that members of the common people also practiced the Kalam method here and achieved such mastery that they could compete with scholars from other cities.
Ibn Hawqal reports in his book
Surat Al-Ard that he saw two porters in the city who were carrying heavy loads on their heads or backs and at the same time arguing about the interpretation of the Quran and questions of the Kalam. During the course of the 10th century, the Kalam also spread more widely to the eastern regions of the Islamic Empire. One of the early Kalam scholars representing the
Mu'tazila in Khorasan was Abū al-Qāsim al-Balkhī (d. 931). Other Kalam scholars such as
Al-Qadi Abd al-Jabbar (d. 1024) settled in
Rayy. In the
Maghreb and
al-Andalus, on the other hand, the Kalam was not yet a topic of discussion until the early 11th century.
Al-Baqillani a Maliki jurist contributed to the propagation of
Ash'arism within the Maliki circles in North Africa. One of his students,
Abu Dharr al-Harawi was the first to introduce the Ash'ari doctrine to the
Holy Sanctuary of
Mecca. Among the hundreds of Andalusi and Maghrebi pupils that Abu Dharr al-Harawi trained to become
jurists and
judges, and who helped Ash'arism expand to their home countries are
Abu al-Walid al-Baji and
Abu Imran al-Fasi. However, research shows that his students were not the first to introduce Ash'arism as there were already known Ash'ari presence in the
Tunisia such as
Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani and
Abu al-Hassan al-Qabisi. In al-Andalus, Ash'arism was flourishing since the time of the theologian-philosopher
Ibn Hazm (d. 1064). The theologian Abu Bakr al-Baqillani's works were widely circulated in the region, which helped fostered the growth of Ash'arite theology and sparked debates. Eventually, Mu'tazilite beliefs in the region were subdued. Shortly after, the Ash'ari theology became the mainstream doctrine of the
Maliki school. The
Mu'tazila, also known as the Ahl al-Tawhid wal-'Adl, or the "People of Divine Unity and Justice", were originally the dominant school of kalam, but by the tenth century, two madhabs—the Ash'ariyya and the Maturidiyya—rose in fierce opposition to the Mu'tazila. Each school bore the names of its founders,
Abu Hasan al-Ash'ari and
Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, and represented Ahl al-Sunnah (People of Prophetic ways). In the tenth and eleventh centuries, the Maturidites flourished in Khurasan and Central Asia, while the Ash'arites posed a threat to Mu'tazila hegemony in central Iraq and Iran. Both schools use kalam to defend what we now refer to as "orthodox Islam" or traditionalist Islamic theological doctrine. Mu'tazalism would eventually fall because of this. This is noted by Western historians, who label the Mu'tazila as a heterodox theological movement and extreme rationalists. The group would continue to exist and primarily follow
Shia and
Ibadi.
Post-classical period and "conservatism" The most influential work of the post-classical Kalām was the
Kitāb al-Mawāqif by the Iranian Shafi'i theologian
Adud al-Din al-Iji (d. 1355). It received a total of five commentaries and 32 supercommentaries and became part of the Dars al-Nizāmī curriculum in the South Asian
madrasas. The book also played an important role in
Ottoman schools. The Ottoman scholar Sāčaqlızāde recommended it to scholars in the Kalām section of his encyclopedia
Tartīb al-ʿulūm, together with the
Kitāb al-Maqāṣid by
Saʿd ad-Dīn at-Taftāzānī, as a basis for teaching. The work contains an introductory chapter at the beginning in which the author discusses the definition, subject, utility, rank, problems and naming of the science of Kalām. At the end of the 14th century,
Ibn Khaldun believed that the science of Kalam was no longer necessary for students of his time, because the heretics and innovators had since perished and it was sufficient to study what the Sunni imams had written to defend themselves against them. However, the science of Kalam experienced a revival in the 17th and 18th centuries in what is now
Mauritania. A particularly zealous follower of the Kalam was the Ash'arite scholar Muhammad ibn 'Umar al-Bartallī (d. 1696) in
Walatah. A West African biography collection reports that he was one of the famous Mutakallimūn and was constantly busy reading, copying and teaching Kalam books. The Kalām was also promoted among the Volga-Ural Tatars in Russia . At the end of the 18th century, it became an integral part of madrasa scholarship in villages and small towns, even if it was limited to commentaries and glosses. However, the early modern period was a phase of "frozen conservatism" for Kalām science, as Louis Gardet writes.
Modern attempts at revival Mulla Sadra, 17th AD
Twelver Shia philosopher and mystic; has felt that he owed to the Greek philosophy, for the development of kalam as Islamic discourse. Modern philosopher
Federico Campagna has suspected the similarity between the unique cosmological kalam philosophy taught by Mulla Sadra with Hindu Vedic
Upanishads philosophy. In retrospect, Muhammad Kamal from Islamic studies at the
Melbourne institute has stated Mulla Sadra philosophy was influenced by
Avicenna and
Ibn Arabi.
Ruhollah Khomeini, Iranian Islamic revolutionary, politician, religious leader who served as the first
Supreme Leader of Iran, founder of modern-day Islamic Republic of
Iran and the main leader of the
Iranian Revolution; has used kalam to facilitate his socio-religious revival of moral spirit of the masses. As he formulate the revolutionary system on his states building, Khomeini's political thoughts was closely linked with kalam discourse. == As an Islamic discipline ==