Discussions for the Existence of God in Jalal ad-Din ad-Dawani: Disproving infinite Regress

One of the most important subjects discussed throughout intellectual history has been proving the rational necessity that subsists within His Essence. An Essence that is self-subsistent; free from needing anyone or anything, Exalted is He. This topic is one of the most important philosophical topics and one of the most important topics in Kalam that have been brought forth once again as well as being very important in the history of speculative thought in general. This topic which was given a lot of attention by the later generation of scholars has a lot of priceless literature written on it consisting mostly of speculative and dialectical treatises. After studying the literature broadly one notices that the 'proof from Huduth' (dalil al huduth) and the 'proof from possibility' (dalil al-imkan) are used the most. And while both proofs are different from one another in terms of form and content they are similar when it comes to the question of negating infinite regress (ibtal at-tasalsul). It is for this reason that the question of infinity holds a very important place in the literature that is not of any less value than the place of proving the rational necessity of God. And it similarly enjoys a modern concern by scholars. Just as infinity is a central question when it comes to the question of proving the rational necessity of God it is also plays a central part in other topics like the attributes of God, Exalted is He, Prophetology, and the theory of Jawhar al-Fard as well as other epistemological, ontological, cosmological and eschatological areas. This is because the soundness of the use of textual proofs hinges on disproving circular arguments (dawr) and disproving infinite regress (tasalsul). Jalal ad-Din ad-Dawani (d. 908/1502) as one of the Ashari scholars of the late period engaged the question of proving the rational necessity of God in an analytical manner based upon the eclectical Kalam tradition that he inherited. And he highlighted a number of problems that the earlier generations did not pay attention to. Dawani, who analyzed both the subject of infinity and the various representations of the proof from possibility (dalil al-imkan) founded a strong dialectical relationship with the other scholars concerning both of these subjects. This research paper seeks to study the various perspectives and opinions of Dawani with regards to both the topic of proving the rational necessity of God as well as disproving infinite regress as well as discuss the foundations of his thought and all that it entails.