Commands as Divine Attributes

Islamic Jurisprudence and the Euthyphro Question

Bibliographic Data

ID14760604
AuthorsOmar Farahat (0000-0002-5862-1809, University of Nebraska at Omaha, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume44
Issue4
Pages581-605
Publication date2016-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Religious Ethics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0384-9694 • E-ISSN: 1467-9795
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jore.12154
OpenAlexW2548481923
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited11

Theories of ethics that attempt to incorporate divine speech or commands as necessary elements in the construction of moral obligations are often viewed as vulnerable to a challenge based on the so‐called Euthyphro dilemma. According to this challenge, opponents of theistic ethics suppose that divine speech either informs one of a preexisting set of values and obligations, which makes it inconsequential, or is entirely arbitrary, which makes it irrational. This essay analyzes some of the debates on the nature of divine commands in eleventh‐century works of Islamic jurisprudence ( uṣūl al‐fiqh ). I show that Muʿtazilī jurisprudents advanced the view that divine commands were actions performed in time that had concrete manifestations, while Ashʿarīs argued that divine speech in general, and commands in particular, were eternal divine attributes. After exposing certain weaknesses in the Euthyphro ‐inspired objections to theistic ethics, I argue that the Ashʿarī idea of commands as divine attributes is a promising move for scholars interested in defending a divine command view of moral obligation

Dilemma · Divine grace · Divine law · Eleventh · Epistemology · Irrational number · Islam · Jurisprudence · Moral obligation · Obligation · Political science · Set (abstract data type · Theism · Theology · Computer Science · Islamic Studies and History · Islamic Thought and Society Studies · Law · Mathematics · Medieval and Classical Philosophy · Philosophy

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