A proof for the unprovable? A comparison between Anselm’s ontological proof for the existence of God and the Ṣeddīqīn Proof

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

1 Sharjah Chair in Global Islam, McMaster University, Kanada.

2 PhD student, University of Bonn, Germany

Abstract
The word Ṣeddīqīn has been derived from Ṣādeq, which refers to a person who always says the truth. There are different approaches to the Ṣeddīqīn proof of God in the Islamic Philosophy, which are presented and discussed in this paper. In the Western philosophy, Anselm of Canterbury, is regarded as the founder for the ontological proof of God. In his work, Proslogion, Anselm defined God as a being that nothing greater than it can be thought. Since this being exists in the mind of everyone, it must also exist in reality. In this paper the Ṣeddīqīn proof of God in the Islamic Philosophy is discussed and compared with Anselm‟s proof in the Western philosophy.

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