DOES CRITICIZING INTELLIGENT DESIGN (ID) UNDERMINE DESIGN DISCOURSE IN THE QURʾĀN? A KALĀMIC RESPONSE

Some Muslim thinkers argue against evolution using intelligent design (ID) arguments. One possible impetus for this line of reasoning is the several indications of design mentioned throughout the Qurʾān. Therefore, criticizing ID could be seen as a direct attack on the Qurʾānic outlook. However, this article will argue that this is a false equation. The Qurʾānic design argument, as articulated in the tradition of Sunnī scholastic theology (kalām), argues for the existence of a supernatural God by acknowledging natural causes that bring about designed phenomena in the universe. By contrast, Muslim thinkers who use ID to argue against evolution are arguing for the existence of a supernatural being through the supposed inability of science to explain designed phenomena through natural causes. Thus, there is a fundamental difference between the design outlook provided in the Qurʾān versus the arguments of ID. Accordingly, this article argues that critiquing ID does not undermine the design discourse of the Qurʾān.