Prevalent Comments in the
Community
God Himself descends to the lowest heaven. God’s
sits on his magnificent chair. God stomps on hell
with his foot. It was preordained that you missed
or received X. It was preordained (qadr) that you
got in that car accident or faced X calamity. I
understand that he murdered thousands of
innocent people, but he died testifying his faith in
God. I don’t know anything about ‘Alī’s caliphate. I
did not know the grandsons of the Prophet were
murdered, the reasons for which they were killed,
or how they lived their adult lives.
Do any of these statements reflect your own beliefs
or those of your community? Why?
Umayyad Contributions to Muslim
Culture
Anthropomorphism
The Salvation of criminals
sentiment
Fatalism
Anti-Alid
Rationalist Responses in the First Century
The Quran and The Image of God
Tajsīm – Anthropomorphist literalism
Tafwīḍ - Abstaining from Interpretation
Tanzīh – Absolving God of physical characteristics
*Tashbīh – Likening God to man
How do you interpret the image of God in the
Quran?
Moses and The Shephard
This
On the path Moses came upon a shepherd
His prayers with God he overheard.
Where are you so your needs I can serve
Mend your shoes, comb your hair, curl & curve.
Wash your clothes, kill your lice, pick your nits
Bring you milk, while your Majesty just sits.
Kiss your lovely hands, and rub your tiny feet
When it is time to sleep, sweep your room, make it neat.
For you I will sacrifice all my goats
Thinking of you I shout and sing my notes.
Moses and The Shephard
If you praise or say thanks in loud cries
Like the old shepherd, you will see your demise.
Even if all your praises are better Compared to God's mercy, they
won't matter.
Say no more, cause when the veil is pulled aside Whatever they
thought was, will not abide.
God accepts you praises from his grace
Permits you to pray, while a stone you face. [The Ka‘ba]
Is it possible to cherish the spirituality of other traditions and
disagree with their theologies?
Being Reasonable & Kind:
Am I diligent, comprehensive, and
fair?

(a) Legal Theory & Certainty

(b) Awareness of Logical Fallacies

(c) Integrity in Research:


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Respecting historic traditions (with
which you disagree),
Providing well-reasoned proofs,
(Abstaining from Fallacies).
(c) Accepting Agency & SelfRepresentation
Logical Fallacies
Appealing to Authority
Ad hominem attack
Opposition
Straw Man
Circular Argument
Appeal to Force
A Game of Proofs
In the following examples, my opponent is arguing why one
should agree with him, but never logically, so that I must
agree.
Find the fallacy in his argumentation.
1. I know X is true b/c Ibn Taymiyya says so.
2. I believe in the Quran because it is the word of God.
3. Don't celebrate birthdays, because people of other faiths
do this.
4. Shias are wrong because they believe ‘Alī should've been
the Messenger and Gabriel made a mistake
5. This ḥadīth is false, because one of its transmitters is
untrustworthy.
6. Do not uphold minority/unpopular views, because your
family or community will condemn and ostracize you.
Logical Fallacies
Ambiguity
Appeal to the Crowd
Appeal to Emotion
Beside the Point
Genetic Fallacy
Appeal to Ignorance
A Game of Proofs
1. The Muslim community rejected Musaylama as a prophet,
therefore we know there will be no prophet after Muhammad.
2. No ḥadīth specialist can prove sadl al-yadayn, so there is no
proof.
3. People believe in God because it gives them peace of mind,
therefore belief in God is false.
4. Most people believe Sura ‘Abasa was revealed in criticism of
the Prophet, so this belief must be true.
5. It is Mutawatir that the Prophet said “Whosoever considers me
his Mawla, then ‘Alī is his Mawla,” therefore ‘Alī is the rightful
caliph after the Prophet.
6. Don't question the wisdom or authenticity of any sahih ḥadīth,
doing so results in kufr.
Identify the logical fallacy, then amend the argument if possible.