TORONTO — In a recent theological consultation addressing the intersection of divine omnipotence and moral philosophy, prominent Islamic scholar Shaykh Faraz Rabbani provided a nuanced analysis of the classical Euthyphro dilemma through the lens of traditional Sunni creed.
The inquiry, submitted by a seeker of knowledge, questioned whether attributing the divine name al-Barr (the All-Benevolent) to Allah resolves the philosophical puzzle, and whether it follows that it is rationally impossible for the Creator to command actions such as lying, theft, or rape due to a contradiction with His benevolent nature.
Responding in detail, Shaykh Rabbani affirmed the first premise while correcting the second. He explained that everything originating from Allah Most High is inherently good, making it a sound theological response to ground morality in His divine attributes. However, he clarified that it does not logically follow that a divine command to lie or steal is "rationally impossible" in the strictest ontological sense. Rather, while such commands will never be issued, the impossibility stems from His perfect wisdom and His own self-declared word, rather than any perceived limitation in His absolute power.
Navigating the Ancient Philosophical Puzzle
The underlying philosophical puzzle traces back to the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, who famously framed the dilemma in the Euthyphro: "Is the holy holy because it is loved by the gods, or do they love it because it is holy?"
Translated into monotheistic theological terms, the dilemma presents a binary choice: either an act is good solely because Allah commands it, rendering morality arbitrary, or Allah commands an act because it is inherently good, implying that an independent standard of morality stands above the Creator.
Addressing this classical predicament, Shaykh Rabbani adopted the Maturidi theological framework, the foundational creed of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. According to Maturidi theology, both horns of the dilemma are dismissed.
The Divine name al-Barr is a revealed attribute established in the Quran, specifically in Surah al-Tur: "Verily He is the All-graciously Kind, the Compassionate." This attribute defines the nature of what proceeds from the Creator. According to the foundational theologian Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, every act created by Allah incorporates wisdom, justice, bounty, or beneficence. While Allah is the ultimate creator of all things—including human actions and difficult trials—no intrinsic evil or moral deficiency attaches directly to His divine acts.
Disentangling Rational Impossibility and Divine Wisdom
A critical distinction highlighted in the scholar’s response involves the categories of impossibility. In Islamic theology, what is "rationally impossible" refers to concepts that cannot exist under any logical framework, such as the existence of a second independent deity; divine power does not relate to such logical absurdities because they are non-entities.
A hypothetical divine command to lie does not fall into this category of absolute logical impossibility. When classical authorities like Imam al-Maturidi state that an act of the Creator cannot depart from divine wisdom, they are not arguing that such an act is restricted by an external boundary on His power. Instead, they mean that ascribing folly or injustice to the Lord is intellectually and theological untenable, as folly is incompatible with His perfect lordship.
This perspective highlights a subtle yet vital distinction between Sunni theological schools regarding human reason and the Divine Law. Both the Ashari and Maturidi schools agree that human intellect independently recognizes certain foundational truths—such as the inherent goodness of knowledge and the inherent badness of ignorance—without recorded historical disagreement among mainstream scholars.
However, the two schools diverge on how goodness and badness relate to legal obligations and divine rewards or punishments. Ashari theologians maintain that the Law itself is the sole source of moral obligation, holding that human reason on its own neither establishes a thing as good or bad nor creates legal obligations or prohibitions. In contrast, Maturidi scholars hold that human reason is capable of independently grasping the moral quality of certain acts, though not necessarily the exhaustive scope claimed by earlier rationalist schools like the Mutazilite movement. Even so, the Maturidi position maintains that humanly deduced moral values do not bind the Divine Law.
Citing classical scholars such as Imam Bayadi and Hafiz al-Din al-Nasafi, Shaykh Rabbani emphasized that within the Hanafi-Maturidi tradition, human reason serves strictly as an instrument for recognizing moral obligations and verifying the truthfulness of revelation, rather than acting as the independent source that originates obligation. As al-Nasafi summarized, the ultimate obligator is Allah Most High, ensuring that neither Sunni school subordinates the Creator to an external standard of good, nor reduces morality to an arbitrary decree.
Grounding Morality in Divine Attributes and Sacred Text
To reinforce the theological security of this position, Shaykh Rabbani pointed to a sacred narration transmitted by Abu Dharr, in which the Prophet Muhammad conveyed the words of his Lord: "O My servants, I have forbidden injustice for Myself and made it forbidden among you, so do not wrong one another."
This prohibition, the scholar explained, represents a voluntary restriction declared by Allah Himself—a definitive report of what will eternally never proceed from Him, rather than an external law imposed upon a higher authority. The wisdom and benevolence that anchor objective morality are intrinsic attributes of the Creator, beginningless and unacquired, rather than external standards standing above Him.
Concluding the consultation, Shaykh Rabbani reiterated that attributing moral necessity to divine actions is a reflection of Allah’s perfect wisdom and lordship, affirming that the traditional Islamic understanding safeguards both divine sovereignty and objective moral truth without compromise.