Islamic Philosophy

Kalām (Arabic: علم الكلام‎) is the Islamic philosophy of seeking Islamic theological principles through dialectic. In Arabic the word literally means "speech". A scholar of kalam is referred to as a mutakallim (Muslim theologian; plural mutakallimiin). There are many interpretations of why this discipline was called "kalam"; one of them is that the widest controversy in this field was about Allah's speech.

Criticism

The place of kalam in Islamic thought has been controversial throughout history. Many traditional Sunni Muslim scholars have criticized or outright prohibited it, including the well known "Four Imams”. Abu Hanifa prohibited his students from engaging in kalam, stating in his view that those who practice it are from the "retarded ones."[1] Malik ibn Anas referred to kalam in the Islamic religion as being "detested"[2], and that whoever "seeks the religion through kalam will deviate".[3] In addition, Muhammad Shafi'i said that no advice on knowledge of Islam can be gained from books of kalam, as kalam "is not from knowledge"[4][5] and that "It is better for a man to spend his whole life doing whatever Allah has prohibited - besides shirk with Allah - rather than spending his whole life involved in kalam."[6] Ahmad ibn Hanbal also spoke strongly against kalam, stating his view that no one looks into kalam unless there is "corruption in his heart,"[7] and even went so far as to prohibit sitting with people practicing kalam even if they were defending the Sunnah,[8] and instructing his students to warn against any person they saw practicing kalam.[9]
Today, criticism of kalam also comes from modern day scholars of the Salafi movement.
Some modern day scholars of the Sufi movement hold mixed views. Nuh Ha Mim Keller, a Sheikh in the Shadili Order, holds that the criticism of kalam from early scholars was specific to the Mu'tazila, going on to claim that other historical Muslim scholars such as Al-Ghazali, As-Subki, and An-Nawawi saw both good and bad in kalam and cautioned from the speculative excess of unorthodox groups such as the Mu'tazilah and Jahmiyya.[10]