Time, Infinity, and teh Creation of the Universe: A Study In Al-Kindi's First Philosophy

Widely acclaimed as the first genuine philosopher in the Islamic Tradition,1 Abu YusufYa'qub b. Ishaq al-Kindi (c.801-c.873) is a significant figure in the history of natural theology, having formulated what is perhaps the earliest statement of the argument for God's existence based on the creation of the universe ex nihilo.2 Deeply committed to the doctrine of creation found in the Qur'an, al-Kindi rejected the Aristotelian belief in the eternity of the universe and matter; accordingly, he attempted to demonstrate philosophically that the universe began to exist a finite time ago, and therefore that there must have been a Creator who brought the universe into being out of nothing. For al-Kindi, the temporal origination of the universe strictly implies the creation of the universe.3