The Theory of Time and Allahs Relationship With It

By Bassam Zawadi Assalamu Alaykum, I would like to discuss Allahs relationship to time and what theory of time we Salafi Muslims must believe in. Let me give you all a brief idea of what I would be discussing: Definitions of key terms What will I argue? Refuting the positive case for Allahs divine timelessness Providing the positive case for Allahs divine temporality Refuting the positive case for the B theory of time Providing the positive case for the A theory of time Conclusion

Definitions of key terms

Before I proceed allow me to present the definitions of some of the key terms that I would be using. Timeless: not related to time. This means that if a being is not related to time that implies that He is not aware of things and doesnt perform acts in relation to absolute time. Temporal: related to time. This word also means not eternal, however I will not be using this word to mean not eternal. I will only use it to mean related to time. Being temporal has no effect on that beings eternal nature, nor does it mean that the being is restricted by or dependent upon time. A theory of time (or dynamic theory of time): This is also known as the common sense theory of time which teaches that time really changes or flows. There is an objective and absolute past, present, and future. This is what most laymen as our selves believe. B theory of time (or static theory of time): This teaches that time in reality does not change or flow. There is not absolute now so to speak. Rather, on this theory, time is static. Past, present and future are just subjective illusions of human consciousness. For example, I Bassam Zawadi equally perceive April 26, 2009 just as Bassam Zawadi is perceiving (not perceived because there is no absolute past) April 26, 2008.

Tensed Facts: Tensed facts are facts that require knowledge of a related time and date for them to make sense. For example, I am writing this post right now is a tensed sentence, for it requires knowledge of now to know whether it is true or not. If you did not know which now I was speaking about and referring to then it would be impossible to know if my statement was true or not. Tenseless Facts: Tenseless facts are facts that dont require knowledge of a related time and date for them to make sense. For example, Bassam is writing this post on April 26, 2009 is a tenseless sentence. This sentence does not tell you whether this event occurred in the past, present or future and it is not necessary for one to know in order to know that this statement is true nor not.

What will I Argue?

I will argue that based on sound logic and derived understanding of Islamic teachings we must believe that Allah is temporal and that the A theory of time is the correct theory of time.

Refuting The Positive Case For Allahs Divine Timelessness

There are several arguments that philosophers have presented, however the only serious one that must be entertained shall be discussed.

Argument: The Incompleteness of Temporal Life

Temporal life is incomplete in that our past is continuously diminishing away and we do not yet have our future. Our only grasp of existence is at the present moment. Proponents of Allahs Divine Timelessness argue that this is incompatible for Allah who is the most perfect being. Let me provide you with an illustration so that you may better grasp the gravity of the argument being presented. Suppose you have a diary and in that diary three years ago you said Today is the greatest day of my life. I am feeling so great right now. The words right now were now for you at that moment three years ago, however right now they are in the past. Those moments are gone and lost forever. That exact moment that you loved so much will never come back to you again. Time has a cruel way of chewing away at existence and surely this is incompatible with the life of a most perfect being such as Allah. A perfect being

must have his life all at once, complete, never passing away or yet to come. In other words, the life of a perfect being must be a timeless one. However, this argument is not strong. We must remember that the Quran teaches that there is nothing like unto Allah (42:11) and we must not compare Him to His creation. Allahs omniscience diminishes the negative implications of the passing of time. The main problem with the transition of time is that we can no longer have a complete memory of the past or an anticipation of the future in our minds. However, for Allah who is All Knowing and knows completely past, present and future as though they were right now, He is not affected negatively by the transition of time. If Allah so pleased He can easily recall past events and relive them with a reality as if they were present. Similarly, He foreknows events that would come in the future with the same sort of reality. Therefore, Allah is not disadvantaged by the passing of time just as we finite and temporal creatures are. Other arguments for Allahs Divine Timelessness have been refuted by Dr. William Lane Craig in his book God, Time and Eternity, pages 3-43 over here.

Providing The Positive Case For Allahs Divine Temporality

First Argument: If tensed facts do exist then Allah must be temporal.
The argument is as follows: Premise 1: If Allah truly is All Knowing, then either: a) No tensed facts exist. b) Or Allah knows tensed facts. Premise 2: Allah is All Knowing. Premise 3: Tensed facts do indeed exist. Premise 4: Hence, this shows that Allah knows tensed facts. Premise 5: If Allah knows tensed facts, then He must be temporal. Conclusion: Therefore, Allah is temporal.

How may opponents attack this argument?

To deny premise 1 is to redefine omniscience so that Allah can still be omniscient without knowing any tensed facts. This is an act of desperation, for there is no justification for redefining the word omniscience or term All Knowing. As an All Knowing being, Allah cannot be ignorant of tensed facts. He must know not only the tenseless facts about the universe, but tensed ones as well. Otherwise, Allah would be literally ignorant of what is going on now in the universe because that is a tensed fact. He would be like a movie director who only has knowledge of what picture is on every frame of the film lying in the canister, but he has no idea of which frame is now being projected on the screen in the theater downtown. Similarly, Allah would be ignorant of what is now happening in the universe. That is surely incompatible with the doctrine of divine omniscience. To deny premise 2 simply results in the belief that Allah is not All Knowing to begin with, thus avoiding the problem entirely. However, we as Muslims believe that Allah is All Knowing, hence this option is not open. To reject Premise 3 would require one to adopt the B Theory of time. However, as I shall demonstrate below this is a wrong position to adhere to. Premise 5 is very simple to affirm. If tensed facts exist, then it necessarily follows that truth or falsehood is changing over time. For example, the tensed statement "It is now 1:27 pm" is only true at 1:27 pm and false at all other times. So if Allah knows this tensed fact, His knowledge must be changing constantly as He knows when certain statements become true and false. However, if Allah is timeless, He cannot change at all, as a change requires time. Consequently, Allah cannot know tensed facts and remain timeless. Rather, He must be temporal in order to know them. Another way one may attack this argument is by saying that tensed sentences (i.e. sentences that contain tensed facts) could be translated into tenseless sentences without any loss in meaning, therefore it is not necessary for Allah to have knowledge of tensed sentences. For example, the tensed sentence Bassam is posting this thread right now could also be translated to the tenseless sentence Bassam is posting this thread on April 26, 2009 and still have the same meaning. Hence, it is sufficient for Allah to only know the tenseless sentence. However, the objection to the above argument is that both of the sentences Bassam is posting this thread right now and Bassam is posting this thread on April 26, 2009 communicate different information. That is because the prior sentence indicates the present time of which Bassam is posting the thread, while the second sentence does not. Furthermore, the statement Bassam is posting this thread right now could only be true at the time of its occurrence and at no other time. Therefore, we can present this argument in another format and it goes like this: Premise 1: Tensed sentences appear to be communicating tensed facts. Premise 2: The apparent communication of tensed facts by tensed sentences should be accepted as accurate unless:

(i) Tensed sentences are shown to be translatable into tenseless sentences without any loss of meaning. Or (ii) Tensed facts are shown to be unnecessary for the truth of tensed sentences. Premise 3: It has not been demonstrated that tensed sentences could be translatable into tenseless sentences without any loss of meaning. Premise 4: It has not been shown that tensed facts are unnecessary for the truth of tensed sentences. Conclusion: Therefore, the apparent communication of tensed facts by tensed sentences should be accepted as accurate

Thus, we see that without a shadow of a doubt tensed facts do exist and the only way for Allah be All Knowing is for Him to know them and the only way He can know them is for Him to be temporal.

Second Argument: Allahs Causal Relationship To The World

In order to understand this, you first need to understand the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic change. Something changes intrinsically if one of its properties or features changes, which it has in isolation from its relationship to anything else. For example, I gained more weight over the past 5 years. That's an intrinsic change to me. Something changes extrinsically if it changes in its relations to something else. For example, I was once taller than my friend Sami back in school, but I am now shorter than Sami, not because of any intrinsic change in me, but because of an intrinsic change in him. He has grown taller. I have become shorter than Sami by undergoing an extrinsic change. I have remained intrinsically changeless in terms of my height, but I have undergone extrinsic change in relation to Sami in that, because of his change in height, I am now in a new relation, namely shorter than, whereas before I stood in a different relation, taller than, to Sami. Thus, I have undergone a relational or extrinsic change. As Muslims we believe that Allahs attributes dont change (i.e. He doesnt change intrinsically), however there is no reason for us to not believe that Allah changes extrinsically. Also, it is enough for something to be extrinsically changing (and not intrinsically changing) in order to be temporal. For example, imagine a soccer ball. In our example let us suppose that the soccer ball remains unchanged in that it never get dirty or ripped, etc. So here we see that the ball is not changing intrinsically, however does that mean that it is not undergoing any extrinsic changes? Well no because it is possible that

someone walks by the ball, then five minutes later someone else walks by it, etc. Hence, we see that the ball is temporal in its relation to time even though it has not undergone any intrinsic changes. Now Allah, as the creator of the universe, is causally related to the world. He brought the world into existence. And the question is, would Allah be temporal in virtue of His changing relationships with a temporal universe? Imagine Allah existing alone, without the world, without the creation. Now in such a circumstance, Allah is either timeless or temporal. Let's suppose that He's timeless. And now let's suppose that Allah wills to create the world and brings the universe into existence. Now when He does so, Allah either remains timeless or else He becomes temporal in virtue of His new relationship to a changing world. Could Allah remain timeless while creating the universe? Well, I don't think so. Why not? Because in creating the universe Allah undergoes at least an extrinsic change a relational change. At the moment of creation He comes into a new relation in which He did not stand before because there was no "before." It's the first moment of physical time. And at the first moment of physical time, He comes into this new relation of sustaining the universe or at least of co-existing with the universe, a relation in which He did not stand before. And thus, in virtue of this extrinsic, relational change, Allah would be temporal at the moment of creation.

Third Argument: Evidence from Quran and Sunnah

One just by reading certain Quranic verses and hadeeth could see how obvious it is that Allah is temporal. For instance, the Quran says that Allah will judge us on a Day whose length is 50,000 years (70:4). The Quran says that Allah will come on the Day of Judgment (89:22). Allah spoke to Musa at a specific time. We cant say that Allah spoke to Moses from eternity and is still speaking to him. Musa was on earth in space time continuum when that happened. The hadeeth talk about how the Prophet (peace be upon him) spoke to Allah when he ascended unto the heavens. This occurred more than 1400 years ago. This isnt occurring now. Allah spoke to the Prophet (peace be upon him) at that particular time. All this clearly illustrates that Allah is acting in a certain way in a specified time period. This shows His temporal nature.

Refuting The Positive Case For The B Theory of Time

Several arguments have been put forth for the B Theory of Time. Dr. William Lane Craig does an excellent job addressing them in his book The Tenseless Theory of Time: A

Critical Examination. We also recommend our readers to read Dr. Craigs book Time and Metaphysics of Reality, over here because it contains very useful information on how to refute the relative theory of time propagated by B Theorists.

Providing The Positive Case For The A Theory of Time

First Argument: The Existence of Tensed Facts
Please refer back to the section Providing The Positive Case For Allahs Divine Temporality and see the first argument, for I discuss the existence of tensed facts over there. Once you have shown that tensed facts do exist then you have also shown that the A Theory of Time is true, for the only way for tensed facts to exist is if there is an objective now. An objective now does not exist according to the B Theory of Time, but only the A Theory of Time.

Second Argument: Belief in the A Theory of Time Is a Proper Basic Belief

A proper basic belief is a basic belief that one adheres to that is fully rational and more appropriate to believe in, unless and until one provides reasons for one not to. For example, it is a proper basic belief to believe in the reality of the physical world. One is fully rational and justified for believing in the physical world, despite being unable to transcend his own cognitive faculties and see whether his sensory perceptions are reliable and accurately representing the situation at hand. There is no good reason for us to doubt the existence of the physical world unless we have been shown evidence as to why we should. Another example, if one sees a tree then the person is fully rational to conclude there is a tree in front of me. However, it is possible that this proper basic belief could be proven false if it was shown to him that it really wasnt a real tree in front of him, but a tree on some kind of simulator like in Disney World. So here, the person must abandon the belief that there is a tree in front of him. Now I contend that belief in the A Theory of Time is a proper basic belief and one is at full rationality for accepting this theory of time unless and until he is given reasons not to. I would also say that the person is irrational to not accept the A Theory of Time unless and until he finds good evidence to reject it. The argument may be formulated as follows:

Premise 1: The objective distinction between past, present and future is a proper basic belief.

Premise 2: If our belief in the objective distinction between past, present and future is a proper basic belief, then we are prima facie justified in holding this belief. Conclusion: We are prima facie justified in holding our belief in the objective distinction between past, present and future as properly basic. Belief in the A Theory of Time is a proper basic belief for the following reasons: 1) Our experience of events: Our experiences of events that are happening presently are no different than our beliefs that they are happening presently. If we experience events in the present, then this affirms the objective reality of the present. 2) Our Varying Attitudes Towards the Past and Future: We experience different feelings about events that have happened and that will happen. Past events might be remembered with regret, while future events might be highly anticipated. When we say Thank Allah that exam is over we dont mean to say Thank Allah the date of the exams ending is April 26, 2009 The point is that such attitudes cannot concern tenesless facts but are about tensed facts and it is entirely rational to have such attitudes. If it is rational to believe that my university school years are in the past then it is also rational for me to believe in the objective reality of the past. However, on the B Theory of Time all such attitudes would be regarded as irrational, for there is no such thing as an objective past, present, or future. 3) Our Experience of Temporal Existence or Becoming: As human beings we experience in our minds a continuous change in the contents of our consciousness. For example, who amongst us had wished that some other time instead of the present was now? For example, many of us would say I wish Ramadan was right now. When we say that, we dont mean to say that we wish that Ramadan was the first month of the Islamic calendar, rather we mean to say that we wish that the time of the month of Ramadan were actually now. In these kinds of experiences we are wishing that some other moment in time were present instead of now, which presupposes the reality of temporal becoming and an objective present. Hence, we may conclude that the A Theory of Time is true unless we are provided evidence to the contrary.

Third Argument: Spatializing Time

Even B Theorists recognize the essential ordering relationships of earlier than and later than. However, the problem is that these are temporal relations. On the B Theory of Time there is no justification for ordering time as "earlier than" or "later than", for there is no objective past and future on this theory. This dimension can no longer be called time. Hence, the static theory of time is incoherent. However, on the A Theory of Time we do have a justification for saying "earlier than" or "later than", thus making the A Theory of Time more coherent and appealing.

Other Arguments
Other arguments in support of the A Theory of Time are The Illusion of Becoming, The Problem of Intrinsic Change and Creatio ex Nihilo. These arguments may be read in detail in Dr. William Lane Craigs Book, The Tensed Theory of Time, partly found online over here.

Conclusion
The following option: Allah is timeless and the A Theory of Time is true Is not open for the individual to choose because it is logically inconsistent. It necessarily follows on the A Theory of Time that tensed facts exist. However, if tensed facts exist and Allah is All Knowing then it necessarily follows that He is temporal, for the only way for Allah to know tensed facts is for His knowledge to change with time and be related to it. An objective now does not exist according to the B Theory of Time, but only the A Theory of Time. Hence, you cannot believe that Allah is timeless and at the same time maintain that the A theory of Time is true like how many Asharis do. The individual has only three internally logically consistent choices to choose from the above. One either has to believe that: 1) Allah is temporal and the A Theory of Time is true 2) Allah is timeless and the B Theory of Time is true 3) Allah is temporal and the B Theory of Time is true (with difficulty may be argued to be a consistent position) Now all of the above may be logically consistent, however that in no way implies that they are all true. I believe that the best and soundest choice to choose from is the first one, which is that Allah is temporal and the A Theory of Time is true. I have attempted to show why this argument is true and the other ones are false in light of sound logic and based on Islamic teachings. Hence, I encourage you all to adopt this view as well. Assalamu Alaykum