Islam, Causality, and Science

This Element offers new views on Islamic tradition and modern science by examining different Islamic accounts of causality.

This Element examines accounts of causality by Muslim theologians, philosophers, and mystics, including Mu'tazilite, Islamic occasionalist, and Islamic participatory accounts. It explores viable options for understanding divine causality without undermining scientific methodology, and whether they can reconcile religious and scientific claims.This Element intends to contribute to the debate between Islam and science. It focuses on one of the most challenging issues in the modern discussion on the reconciliation of religious and scientific claims about the world, which is to think about divine causality without undermining the rigor and efficacy of the scientific method. First, the Element examines major Islamic accounts of causality. Then, it provides a brief overview of contemporary debates on the issue and identifies both scientific and theological challenges. It argues that any proposed Islamic account of causality for the task of reconciliation should be able to preserve scientific rigor without imposing a priori limits on scientific research, account for miracles without turning them into science-stoppers or metaphors, secure divine and creaturely freedom, and establish a strong sense of divine presence in the world. Following sections discuss strengths and weaknesses of each account in addressing these challenges.