When debating the need for prophets, Muslim theologians frequently cited an objection from a group called the Barāhima – either a prophet conveys what is in accordance with reason, so they would be superfluous, or a prophet conveys what is contrary to reason, so they would be rejected. The Barāhima did not recognise prophecy or revelation, because they claimed that reason alone could guide them on the right path. But who were these Barāhima exactly? Were they Brahmans, as their title would suggest? And how did they become associated with this highly incisive objection to prophecy? This book traces the genealogy of the Barāhima and explores their profound impact on the evolution of Islamic theology. It also charts the pivotal role that the Kitāb al-Zumurrud played in disseminating the Barāhima’s critiques and in facilitating an epistemological turn in the wider discourse on prophecy (nubuwwa). When faced with the Barāhima, theologians were not only pressed to explain why rational agents required the input of revelation, but to also identify an epistemic gap that only a prophet could fill. A debate about whether humans required prophets thus evolved into a debate about what humans could and could not know by their own means.

This open access book addresses a wide variety of events and technologies concerning the sago palm, ranging from its botanical characteristics, culture and use to social conditions in the places where it is grown, in order to provide a record of research findings and to benefit society. It discusses various subjects, including the sago palm and related species; differentiation of species of starch-producing palm; habitat, morphological, physiological and growth characteristics; culture and management; productivity of carbon dioxide; starch extraction and manufacture; characteristics and utilization of starch; and cultural anthropological and folkloristic aspects. Problems such as food shortages due to increasing populations, global warming and climate change, and decreasing reserves of oil and other underground resources, have become more pressing in recent years. In the context of these problems, the book examines the role of the sago palm in sustainable food production, in the manufacture of other foodstuffs, as a raw material for ethanol and in the manufacture of biodegradable plastics. In addition to academics, this book will be useful to researchers and government officials working for international agencies, national governments, municipalities, and other research organizations; technicians, researchers, managers, entrepreneurs, and others working in industries such as agriculture, plant production, food production, manufacturing, chemical engineering, energy production, and distribution.

Using hitherto unstudied sources, this monograph provides a comprehensive interdisciplinary study of the ethical theory of al-Rāzī, one of the most complex and influential medieval philosophers and theologians. It reveals remarkable and previously unidentified aspects of ethical thought in Islam.

Since its inception, Islam and its civilization have been in continuous relationships with other religions. The essays collected here examine the many texts that have come down to us about these cultures and their religions, from Muslim theologians and jurists.

The book is about the moral problem generated by morally controversial passages in scripture (and in the Qur'an in particular), passages that seem to allow violence and discrimination against women and sexual and religious minorities. The conservatives argue that scripture can override our own moral judgments and thus certain acts of violence or discrimination can be morally justified through scripture. The book explores this conservative argument and finds ways to undermine it. The book aims to show how a progressive Muslim, or a theist in general, can reject violence and discrimination without renouncing scripture as God's word. Moreover, the book provides a refreshing overview of the history of ethics in the Islamic tradition.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

By proposing the Microcosm and Macrocosm analogy for dialogue between Islamic Philosophy and Occidental Phenomenology, the authors of this volume are reviving the perennial positioning of the human condition in the play of forces within and without the human being. This theme has run from Plato through the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Modernity, and has been ignored by contemporaries. It now acquires a new pertinence and striking significance due to the scientific discoveries into the "infinitely small" in life, on the one hand, and the prodigious technological discoveries of the "infinitely great" on the other. Both open up undreamt-of prospects for the continuing conquest of cosmic forces. The human person – thrown into turmoil by the new approaches to life and needing to acquire new habits of mind, having lost security of all beliefs – desperately seeks a new clarification of the Human Condition within the unity of everything-there-is, of cosmic forces, and of his destiny. The dialogue between Islamic Philosophy and phenomenology of life can show the way. Papers by: Gholam-Reza A'awani, Mehdi Aminrazavi, Roza Davari Ardakani, Mohammad Azadpur, Gary Backhaus, Marina Banchetti-Robino, William Chittick, Seyed Mostafa Muhaghghegh Damad, Golamhossein Ebrahimi Dinani, Nader El-Bizri, Kathleen Haney, Salahaddin Khalilov, Sayyid Mohammad Khamenei, Mahmoud Khatami, Mieczyslaw Pawel Migon, Nikolay Milkov, Sachiko Murata, Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka, Daniela Verducci.