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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Discursive Theology Volume 1 Lesson 6: The Argument of Contingency In Islamic theology, the argument of contingency ( ḥudūth ) is of special importance in that it is called the “special way” of the theologians.

The argument of contingency has been described in various ways in the books of scholastic theology,[^1] and explicitly discussed in traditions ( aḥādīth ).[^2] This argument consists of two premises and a conclusion: Premise 1: The universe is contingent ( ḥādith ). Premise 2: Anything contingent is in need of a Maker. Conclusion: The universe is in need of a Maker.

The second premise of this argument is rational and axiomatic, and those who deny the existence of God also accept it as it is a corollary of the principle of causation. And the proof of its first premise is as follows: The universe is changeable and alterable. Anything which is changeable and alterable is contingent. Therefore, the universe is contingent.

The second premise of this reasoning is also axiomatic and its being so can be known by reflecting upon the reality of change, for ‘contingency’ ( ḥudūth ) means coming into existence after being non-existent; furthermore, anything which is changeable and alterable has no permanence and stability, and any state of it is preceded by non-existence, and since this peculiarity is universal, contingency is also universal and all-encompassing.

The first premise of this argument can be attained through sensory observation, because both outward observation and scientific discovery testify to the motion ( ḥarikah ) and evolution in the universe, as also confirmed by philosophical argument.[^3] In asserting the argument of contingency, ‘Allāmah al-Ṭabāṭabā’ī has said: “Basic observation proves, as can also be found out through scientific curiosity, that the components of the universe have existential connection to one another, and this connection or interrelatedness is not only true to a particular set of components of the universe; in fact, wherever we focus our attention and examine thoroughly, we will discover better the root of this relationship.”[^4] In its own existence, the universe is changeable and alterable; that is, it comes into existence after being non-existent, for once we assess the happenings in the universe in whatever way, we will finally arrive at the universal motion (positional-spatial motion or substantial motion).