Ibrahim Aslan

This article examines the contrasting discourse that appears concerning the concept of ‘fear’ between Qadi ‘Abd al-Jabbar, who attaches importance to reason and rational thought in religion, and Kierkegaard, who regards religion as a transcendent value and observes a paradoxical relation between reason and faith. ‘Abd al-Jabbar argues that religion is the totality of reasonable, objective and universal divine injunctions and sees the religious truth within the boundaries of reason. Kierkegaard, by contrast, claims that religion is the totality of divine commands and is faith and submission that stems from the divine will. He also thought that the theological truth is beyond the boundaries of reason where thinking ends