Mereology in Kalâm A New Reading of the Proof from Accidents for Creation

Abstract

The objective of this article is twofold. First, it investigates mereology in medieval Islamic theology, particularly the theologians’ claim that the whole is identical to its parts and accordingly that at least some attributes common to the parts must by exten-sion be attributed of the whole. This claim was refuted by philosophers and, from the eleventhcenturyonwards,anincreasingnumberof theologians.Second,itoffersanew interpretation of the standard theological proof from accidents for creation ex nihilo , to which this problem was central. A wide range of early, classical and later theological and philosophical sources are consulted.