Kumun, istihala, and khalq three concepts in ibnazm's cosmology

Abstract

The Kalam's cosmology essentially depends on the theory of atomism which suggests that everything in the world is composed of atoms and accidents inherent in atoms, all created by God. Atomism is, however, not the only theory of nature in kalam to support creationism. An alternative theory to it is the theory of latency, kumun, which is formulated in the two different versions, the comprehensive and the limited one, and is mostly attributed to Mu. tazili theologian al-Nazzam. Nevertheless this theory is not accepted by all opponents of atomism like Ibn Hazm. The present article attempts to examine Ibn Hazm's views on the theory of latency in particular, and on the creation in general with a comparison to al-Nazzam's ideas, and also to seek Ibn Hazm's cosmology in the three key concepts: latency (kumun), transformation (istihala), and creation (khalq). The article points out that although Ibn Hazm gives some examples in accordance with the theory of latency, it does not mean that he approves the theory attributed to al-Nazzam as a whole with its theoretical background.