The night journey (isrā’) and ascension (mi‘rāj) represent arguably the most significant and unique events in the life of Prophet Muḥammad. However, the influential Sufi thinker Muḥyī al-Dīn ibn ‘Arabī (d. 638/1240) argues that the Prophet had thirty-four night journeys of which only one was physical. This physical night journey, and the ascension that took place with it, was the one in which he was given the five daily prayers. Ibn ‘Arabī thus employs the secondary night journeys and ascensions of (...) Prophet Muḥammad to delineate a point of emulation between the Prophet’s spiritual experience and those of his nation. Muslims can also have their own ascensions, but their journeys cannot be physical, and, analogously, cannot have autonomous legislative authority. They can, nevertheless, cause a change in their perception that allows them to see the world as it truly is: a manifestation of the divine Names. (shrink)

In _Knowing God_, Ismail Lala investigates the nature of God and whether we can truly know Him according to the influential mystic, Muḥyī al-Dīn ibn ʿArabī, and his disciple, ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Qāshānī.

This article explores the political implications of Muslim public self-presentation and forms of self-fashioning associated with the ongoing processes of re-Islamisation in both Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority societies. It sketches how projects of the Muslim public self contribute to a refiguring of the public sphere. The argument put forward is that public practices of self-reform grounded in religion and presented in pietistic terms are political by virtue of being tied to projects of societal reform and because they have a bearing on (...) the public sphere and public space. Proceeding from the premise that the public sphere is not neutral and that the subjectivities inhabiting it are shaped by power relations, the article examines the ways in which projects of Muslim public selves are imbricated in the material conditions of the settings in which they develop and as such are underpinned by dynamics of power and contestation. (shrink)

Kierkegaard raises many issues in his account of the near sacri­fice of Isaac by his father. Responding to and critiquing Hegelian and Kantian depictions of Abraham, Kierkegaard moves to elevate Abraham into a position as a knight of faith. The Sunnī perception of the incident in the exegetical tradition is far more ethically unequivocal than that of the Latin philosophical tradi­tion. The ubiquitous Sufi theorist, Ibn ʿArabī, however, in a single act of interpretive ingenuity, managed to extirpate the central root (...) of contention raised by the philosophers when he alleges that Abraham was only ever commanded to sacrifice a ram. Despite his abiding commitment to spiritual unveiling and his insistence on the personal nature of God, Ibn ʿArabī advo­cates the employment of a Kantian criterion of universal ratio­nality to adjudicate between literal and metaphorical dreams. (shrink)

God has created all living and non-living things with a distinctive purpose. As the Sustainer of all, He has also arranged for each living organism a desirable environment that provides sustainable items. So, each life requires a sound environment for sustainability. Ecological studies help us understand organisms’ relationship to the environment around them. As God’s highest creation, humans have a close relationship with Nature to maintain and sustain their lives in vibrant caravans. The philosophical interpretations do accept the intimate relationship (...) between humanity and Nature. However, our lifestyle is based on the rich consumption of resources, the development of new technologies and sciences for processing natural resources, burning fossil fuels, and discharging harmful radiation, which has alienated Nature from humanity. We can also point out other causes responsible for a radical break between human society and Nature. The Qur’ān and the Sunnah of the Prophet of Islām are the primary sources of all arts and thoughts. They may lead us to develop an Islāmic perspective on ecological crises and help us solve them. It is attempted here to understand some of the vital environmental phenomena in the light of these sources of Islām. There is intrinsic goodness, beauty, harmony and orderliness in the creation of God; everything in it, the sky and earth, including the sun, moon, stars, water, air, land and a thousand other things have been created for the benefit of man. The Creator created the universe with a Divine trust, which he had accepted and blessed to live in. He thanks God for all bestowed gifts practical in his entire gamut of human emotional life. From the Islāmic perspective, environmental ethics has become intrinsically relevant to dealing with all issues related to ecological crises. In the present paper, we are attempting to briefly discuss the Islāmic perspective on environmental ethics with particular reference to the Qur’ān and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad. It is assumed that the Islāmic framework on the said topic can also pave the way to bring out its relevance and application in crucial times. Philosophy and Progress, Vol#73-74; No#1-2; Jan-Dec 2023 P 1-20. (shrink)

(2009). A Critical Analysis of School Enrollment and Literacy Rates of Girls and Women in Pakistan. Educational Studies: Vol. 45, WOMEN AND EDUCATION, pp. 424-439.

Diplomatic relations carried out between the states are fulfilled under the protocol ruled out by the actors within the international system, which prevents any possible problems that might affect the course of bilateral relations from coming out. However, work and actions in the public arena are carried out under the protocol rules, some of which are in written form, and some of which are based on traditions used for a long period of time. Conducting the mentioned work and actions under (...) the protocol rules not only creates a discipline prevailing work environment, but also encourages employees to perform their duties in a more relaxed, peaceful, happier and more productive manner. Therefore, it is an absolute necessity to act with the attitudes and behaviors under the protocol rules both in the fulfillment of diplomatic relations and in the fulfillment of public activities. But as the protocol rules are not known well enough in Turkey, the necessity mentioned above is not obeyed. This case leads to occurance of significant defects during the implemention of services provided by public institutions in Turkey and the implementation of diplomatic relations. As a matter of fact; when examining the proceduces concerning public work and functions, and diplomatic relations in detail; one can obviously see that numerous problems are encountered which result from not implementing or mis-implementing protocol rules. This study aims to prove that more importance must be given to education on protocol rules in Turkey. (shrink)

This study explores the ways in which trust deficit undermines anti-corruption initiatives in a context with systemic corruption. Anti-corruption measures as panacea to systemic corruption are not new, but their effectiveness is debatable. Whilst understanding the causal relationship between corruption and trust remains germane to fighting corruption, a growing number of recent studies advocate better context sensitivity in developing anti-corruption initiatives. Consistent with this, we unpack the perceptions of a significant section of the population in which corruption is rampant to (...) identify factors that could enhance trust in the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures. Using commentaries from Nigerian Netizens on two critical corruption incidents that are significant to corporations, we uncover poignant narratives of perception of incompetence, dishonesty and confusion that undermine the anti-corruption measures in the context. We argue that donors, international organisations and businesses must encourage and support beneficiaries’ governments to secure and sustain trust in the anti-corruption initiatives as a condition for better results. (shrink)

In the present paper, we introduce new models of pendulum motions for two cases: the first model consists of a pendulum with mass M moving at the end of a string with a suspended point moving on an ellipse and the second one consists of a pendulum with mass M moving at the end of a spring with a suspended point on an ellipse. In both models, we use the Lagrangian functions for deriving the equations of motions. The derived equations (...) are reduced to a quasilinear system of the second order. We use a new mathematical technique named a large parameter method for solving both models’ systems. The analytical solutions are obtained in terms of the generalized coordinates. We use the numerical techniques represented by the fourth-order Runge–Kutta method to solve the autonomous system for both cases. The stabilities of the obtained solutions are studied using the phase diagram procedure. The obtained numerical solutions and analytical ones are compared to examine the accuracy of the mathematical and numerical techniques. The large parameter technique gives us the advantage to obtain the solutions at infinity in opposite with the famous Poincare’s method which was used by many outstanding scientists in the last two centuries. (shrink)

This book offers a critical survey of the origins of liberalism. It challenges the widely-held belief among philosophers that liberalism developed in opposition to religion. Beginning with the Protestant Reformation, it illustrates how Christian thinkers reinterpreted Christianity and used a set of biblical presuppositions from their reinterpretations to develop the first liberal ideas, starting a process that culminates in the birth of the first systematic liberal political philosophy in the writings of a Christian philosopher, John Locke. -/- Foreworded by Michael (...) A. Gillespie, the author of The Theological Origins of Modernity, this book explains how the Protestant Reformation, covenant theology, anti-trinitarianism, and medieval Christian natural law theories formed the foundations of liberalism. Thus, the main argument of this book is that liberalism is better understood as a socio-political project of theistic rationalism, a radical reinterpretation of Christianity that emerged in the post-Reformation and early modern period. (shrink)

Islāmic aesthetic is an outcome of Islāmic civilisation based on Islāmic metaphysics and theology and emphasizes that God is the origin or source of all art and thought, including various art forms. Thus, the essences or forms of all things have their reality in the Divine Wisdom or Intellect (Al-‘Aql-i-Awwal). Islāmic conception of art and beauty has its origin in Islāmic Weltanschauung, so, each object of beauty in nature reflects the Creative and Aesthetic aspect of Jamīl Allāh with His Jamāl. (...) Generally, in Muslim world, art and beauty are almost neglected ones, so, they are not given significant and sufficient importance because of some unauthentic and false notions and consequently, we have almost lost this pristine Islāmic heritage and now we must revisit it and realise its vital function and role in our socio-political and ethico-spiritual life. Islāmic aesthetics has a significant role in the cultural tradition of Islāmic Ummah, so it must be revitalised for a peaceful life’s onward caravan. In the present paper, an effort has been made to discuss the etymological meaning of ‘aesthetics’ in general and the main features of Islāmic conception of aesthetics, including art and beauty, in particular, along with various Islāmic art-forms. Philosophy and Progress, Vol#69-70; No#1-2; Jan-Dec 2021 P 119-144. (shrink)

Objective: To explore the relationship between pharmacists'' tenure in the community setting and their moral reasoning abilities. Design: Systematic random sample design. Setting: A large southeastern city in the United States. Participants:450 independent and chain community pharmacists identified from the state board of pharmacy list of licenced community pharmacists. Interventions: A mailed questionnaire that included a well-known moral reasoning instrument and collected demographic information. Main Outcome Measures: Moral Reasoning abilities and tenure of community pharmacists. Results: As a group, community pharmacists (...) with greater years of tenure in community practice scored significantly lower on moral reasoning than those pharmacists with fewer years of tenure (p = 0.016). Conclusion: Four plausible explanations for the results are given including: a) a selection of lower ethical reasoners and/or an exodus of higher ethical reasoners from the community setting; b) a retrogression in the moral reasoning skills as community pharmacists obtain tenure in this setting; c) differences between the low and high moral reasoning groups may be due to a cohort effect; and d) the obtained practitioner sample may not have been representative of the population of community pharmacists. (shrink)

‘Abd al-Laṭīf al-Baghdādī’s _Book on the Science of Metaphysics_ is an important work that contains the influence of both Alexander of Aphrodisias and Themistius in the interpretation of Aristotle. Only chapters 13-16 belong to the Lambda. The limitation results first of all from the main purpose of the work, namely to present a new witness for the reception of Arabic metaphysics. As can be seen from the introduction of the work, the work is conceived as a unified whole and may (...) be meant as a kind of summa of metaphysics, a synopsis of four writings that hold high rank among medieval metaphysical works - especially since 'Abd al-Latif apparently regarded not only the Metaphysics but also his other sources as originating from Aristotle, the First Teacher. This translation includes only the eighth chapter of the Book Lamda. (shrink)

Terminal kidney patients are faced with lower quality of life, restricted diets and higher morbidity and mortality rates while waiting for deceased donor kidney transplantation. Fortunately, living kidney donation has proven to be a better treatment alternative (e.g. in terms of waiting time and graft survival rates). We observed an inequality in the number of living kidney transplantations performed between the non-European and the European patients in our center. Such inequality has been also observed elsewhere in this field and it (...) has been suggested that this inequality relates to, among other things, attitude differences towards donation based on religious beliefs. In this qualitative research we investigated whether religion might indeed (partly) be the explanation of the inequalities in living donor kidney transplants (LDKT) among non-European patients. Fifty patients participated in focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. The interviews were conducted following the focus group method and analyzed in line with Grounded Theory. The qualitative data analyses were performed in Atlas.ti. We found that religion is not perceived as an obstacle to living donation and that religion actually promotes helping and saving the life of a person. Issues such as integrity of the body were not seen as barriers to LDKT. We observed also that there are still uncertainties and a lack of awareness about the position of religion regarding living organ donation within communities, confusion due to varying interpretations of Holy Scriptures and misconceptions regarding the process of donation. Faith leaders play an important educational role and their opinion is influential. This study has identified modifiable factors which may contribute to the ethnic disparity in our living donation program. We argue that we need to strive for more clarity and awareness regarding the stance of religion on the issue of living donation in the local community. Faith leaders could be key figures in increasing awareness and alleviating uncertainty regarding living donation and transplantation. (shrink)

There is a great deal of support for the contention that the ethical cognition of health care professionals are of consequence to the level of patient care provided. The present study examines the ethical cognition of what has traditionally been deemed a profession of incomplete or marginal status: the retail, or community, pharmacy setting. An empirical examination of ethical cognition compares a systematic random sample of retail pharmacists with pharmacy students. Additional comparisons are made with a baseline of ethical cognition (...) abilities of other health care professionals, such as physicians and nurses.Based on cognitive-developmental theory and using a well-known measure of ethical reasoning, two hypotheses are explored regarding the ethical reasoning skills of retail pharmacy practitioners and pharmacy students. Results indicate that, contrary to cognitive moral development theory, students possess greater ethical reasoning skills than do their practitioner counterparts. In addition, baseline comparisons with other health professional groups reflect unfavorably on the retail pharmacists. It is suggested that the selection-socialization processes inherent in the retail pharmacy setting may result in one or more of the following outcomes: 1) the selection of lower ethical reasoners to the community pharmacy setting, 2) the exodus to other pharmacy settings of higher reasoners, and 3) a possible retrogression in the ethical cognition of community practitioners. Implications for retail practice and limitations are discussed. (shrink)

Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn ‘Arabī (d. 638/1240) is regarded as one of the foremost mystical thinkers in Islam. This paper explores the ways in which he and his followers distinguish between the reality of Muḥammad (al-ḥaqīqa al-Muḥammadiyya) or the light of Muḥammad (al-nūr al-Muḥammadī), as the metaphysical reality of Muḥammad, and his metahistorical manifestation as Muḥammad Ibn ‘Abd Allāh. In his metaphysical reality, Muḥammad is the manifestation of the qur’ān, which ‘brings together’ the divine and His creation. Muḥammad’s metaphysical reality, as (...) the primary recipient of the divine outpouring, enables further differentiations of the divine to emerge in the form of the universe, and establishes his connection to the divine. Yet the Qur’an is also temporal in terms of being an historical act of revelation. Likewise, Muḥammad Ibn ‘Abd Allāh, in terms of his physical reality, was temporally circumscribed. It is in these ways, argues Ibn ‘Arabī and his acolytes, that Muḥammad, as reality and personality, brings together the divine and the temporal, in the same manner as the qur’ān/Qur’an respectively. (shrink)

İslam düşünce tarihinin erken dönemlerine kadar uzanan selef olgusunun aksine Selefîlik, son birkaç asırda varlığını hissettiren bir yapı olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. İslam’ın selef nesline dayalı bir biçimde anlaşılması ve yaşanması ülküsünü güden Selefîlik, ortaya çıkışının ardından araştırma ve tartışmalara konu edinilerek birbirinden farklı anlama ve yorumlama çabalarına maruz bırakılmıştır. Bu doğrultuda Selefîliğin selef olgusuyla yani sahâbe, tâbiîn ve tebe-i tâbiîn ile ilişkisi; ehl-i hadis, Hanbelîlik, Ehl-i Sünnet, Vehhâbîlik, ıslahat hareketleri, radikal akımlar hatta Haricîlikle benzer ve farklı yönleri analiz edilmiştir. Ayrıca (...) Selefîliğin Ahmed b. Hanbel, İbn Teymiyye ve Muhammed b. Abdilvehhâb ile bağlantısı; tarihlendirilmesi, tanımlanması ve tasnif edilmesi, bu anlama ve yorumlama çabalarının mihverini oluşturmuştur. Her ne şekilde olursa olsun Selefîlik, özellikle içerisinde bulunduğumuz asırda araştırmacıların dikkatini çekmiş ve son dönemlerde ortaya çıkan dinî-siyasî akımlardan belirgin bir şekilde ayrılacak düzeyde yoğun analizlere tabi tutulmuştur. Ülkemize ek olarak dünyanın büyük bir kısmında Selefîlikle ilgili yayın faaliyetlerinin artarak devam ediyor olması, bu durumun en önemli göstergesidir. Böylece Suûd yarımadasında ortaya çıkarak başta İslam ülkeleri olmak üzere dünyanın büyük bir kısmında yayılım gösteren Selefîlik, her bölgede aynı etki düzeyine sahip olmasa da ilgi açısından başta Türkiye olmak üzere birçok ülkenin dikkatini çekmiştir. Bu durumun neticesinde Selefîlik, son yılların önemli tartışma konularından biri konumunda bulunmakta ve oldukça farklı mecralarda araştırma konusu olarak varlığını sürdürmektedir. Çoğunlukla makale veya tebliğ konusu şeklinde ele alınan Selefîlik, tez ve kitap çalışmalarında da kendisine yer bulmaktadır. Son yılların yazın faaliyetine bakıldığında Selefîlik konusunu ele alan sempozyumların ve özel sayıların da yayımlandığı görülür. Diğer yayın türlerine nazaran Selefîlik konusunu ele alan özel sayıların konuyu daha derli toplu ve konsantre bir şekilde etüt ettiği belirtilmelidir. Özel sayılar, Selefîlik olgusunun belirli ve daha dar bir alanda ayrıca mukayeseli bir biçimde ele alınmasını sağlamaktadır. Bize bu imkânı sağlayan yayınlardan biri de İstanbul Müftülüğü’nün hakemli resmî yayın organı olan Din ve Hayat Dergisinin Selefîlik özel sayısıdır. Derginin 2023 yılının Temmuz ayında yayımlanan 47. sayısı, Selefîlik konusuna hasredilmiştir. Bu sayıda farklı uzmanlık alanlarına sahip 19 akademisyen tarafından Selefîlikle ilgili muhtelif konuları içeren makaleler kaleme alınmıştır. Özel sayı olması nedeniyle kendine özgü hususiyetleri barındıran bu yayın faaliyeti, Selefîlik olgusunun farklı yönleriyle analizi açısından önem taşımaktadır. Bu nedenle makalemizde Din ve Hayat Dergisi Selefîlik özel sayısında yer alan makaleler, inceleme konusu yapılmıştır. Böylece bu özel sayı üzerinden Türk ilahiyat akademyasının Selefîlik birikim ve anlayışının günümüzde geldiği nokta, imkânlar dâhilinde ortaya koyulmaya çalışılmıştır. Bu amaçla makalemizde Selefîlik olgusunun ilgili metinler üzerinden etraflı ve karşılaştırmalı analizine odaklanılmıştır. İlgili analiz faaliyetinin gerçekçi sonuçlara ulaşması adına Selefîlik araştırmalarının en sorunlu yönleri olan tanımlama, tarihlendirme, ilişkilendirme ve konumlandırma gibi hususlar ön planda tutulmuştur. Böylece hem Selefîlik araştırmalarının önümüze çıkardığı sorun alanlarına dikkat çekilmiş hem de bu sorunlara dönük bazı çözüm önerilerinde bulunulmuştur. Tüm bu girişimlerin oldukça yakın bir zamanda kaleme alınan metinler üzerinden gerçekleştirilmiş olması ayrıca önemlidir. Nitel araştırma yaklaşımına dayalı olarak yürüttüğümüz çalışmamızda doküman analizi yöntemi benimsenmiştir. Söz konusu doküman analizi, metinler üzerinde derinleşme ve mukayeseli kaynak kritiği şeklindeki usûl ilkeleriyle somutlaştırılmıştır. İlgili metinlerin kapsamlı ve mukayeseli analizi neticesinde Selefîlikle ilgili araştırmalarda görülen bazı sorunların günümüzde devam ettiği ve bu sorunların tanımlama, tarihlendirme ve ilişkilendirme gibi hususlar etrafında şekillendiği tespit edilmiştir. (shrink)

We consider a chain of metabolic reactions catalyzed by enzymes, of reversible Michaelis-Menten type with full dynamics, i.e. not reduced with any quasi-steady state approximations. We study the corresponding dynamical system and show its global stability if the equilibrium exists. If the system is open, the equilibrium may not exist. The main tool is monotone systems theory. Finally we study the implications of these results for the study of coupled genetic-metabolic systems.

Conflicts over rangeland exploitation have been a serious challenge in Iran, rooted in human behavior. Accordingly, this study aimed to provide a comprehensive theoretical framework in the field of analyzing conflict behavior among rangeland exploiters. This research is a descriptive-correlational and causal-relational study conducted using a cross-sectional survey. The statistical population of the study was rangeland exploiters in one of the northwest provinces of Iran (N= 66,867) of whom 384 people were selected as a sample and stratified random sampling method (...) with proportional assignment. The research instrument was a questionnaire, the validity of which was confirmed by a panel of academic experts and the reliability of its items was verified using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The results showed that the variables of personal norms (PN) and the perceived behavioral control were able to predict 25.9% of the variance in terms of the conflicting behavior of rangeland exploiters; besides, ascription of responsibility, PN, perceived behavioral control, and awareness of consequences, which have been proposed as activators of PN, were able to explain a significant percentage (63.5%) of the variance in terms of PN. Furthermore, analysis of the effects of environmental and cultural values showed that conflict behaviors of exploiters were mostly affected by their underlying values. Generally, the results of this study would help in the development of more integrated and comprehensive models in the field of exploiters’ conflict behavior. Eventually, to change and improve the environmental behavior of exploiters to better management of conflict in rangelands, providing a list of considerations and competencies for agricultural extension and education, this article comes to the end. (shrink)

Karl Popper’s critique of idealism manifests itself with the application of his method, falsificationism, to metaphysics, epistemology, and social and political philosophy. According to Popper, who identifies himself as a philosophical realist, idealism has emerged as a result of the idea that reality cannot be known by reason and of the search for certainty which is erroneous, and it has begotten two mistaken and detrimental views. These views are historicism, the notion that history has an irresistible course, and holism, the (...) notion that social wholes are organic structures that amount to more than the individuals constituting them. Historicism and holism have become the philosophical underpinnings of closed societies throughout history, such as the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century. Therefore, with a practical leaning, Popper actually takes aim at these pernicious consequences of idealism while criticizing it. In this study, idealism and the contours of Popper’s philosophy are examined, and then Popper’s metaphysical, epistemological, social, and political critiques against idealism are investigated. Keywords: Karl Popper, idealism, historicism, holism, falsificationism. (shrink)

This study is the first part of an attempt to settle a vigorous debate among historians of medieval philosophy by harnessing the resources of analytic philosophy. The debate is about whether Avicenna's epistemology is rationalist or empirical. To settle the debate, I first articulate in this article the three core theses of rationalism and one core thesis of empiricism. Then, I probe Avicenna's epistemology in his major works according to the first core thesis of rationalism (the intuition thesis). In the (...) end, I find Avicenna committed to this thesis in at least one substantive way, namely, in his claim to intuit the intelligible forms or essences. This suffices to count Avicenna as rationalist. In a subsequent article, I shall probe Avicenna's epistemology according to the other two core theses of rationalism, presenting further evidence that he was a rationalist, not an empiricist. (shrink)