Arguments for the existence of god in Fakhr al-Din al-Razi: Temporality (Huduth) and contingency (İmkan)

The endeavour to prove the existence of God (ithbat al-wajib), which corresponds to the effort of explaining the perfection of God, who exits by Himself without being dependant on any other being or power, is a problem common to both theology and philosophy. The arguments used in these two disciplines to prove the existence of God differ in terms of methodology and reference points. The theologians use the "argument of temporality (huduth)", whereas the philosophers prefer the "argument of contingency (imkan)". In the works of Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, the approaches of theology and philosophy on this issue are investigated under a mutual heading. So the concepts of temporality and contingency are first analysed in the ontology section and then, due to their use in proving the existence of God, under the heading of theological discussions. According to al-Razi, the reason why different arguments are used in theology and philosophy has to do with the difference of approach on the question whether the exigence of the object to an agent is related to temporality or contingency. As will be discussed in this study, benefiting from the arguments of both disciplines, al-Razi uses "the proof for God's existence through the contingency of the self and its attributes" as well as "the proof for God's existence through the temporality of the self and its attributes". Apart from these arguments, al-Razi also explicates the rhetorical arguments and tries to remove any doubt from the mind of his audience by including the aphorisms of Sufis and other famous persons in the Islamic society. Key Words: Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, the Existence of God (ithbat al-wajib), Temporality (huduth), Contingency (imkan), Agent, Act.