Evaluation of the Presuppositions of the Problem of Divine Hiddenness from the Perspective of Islamic Thought

Document Type : Original Research

Author
Hamidreza Ayatollahy
. Professor Emeritus, Department of Philosophy, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.
10.30497/prr.2026.249493.2079
Abstract
Schellenberg has claimed that if there is a God, His love must be manifested to all humans. But many humans do not find a manifestation of this love. The existence of such non-resistant atheists shows that such a God does not exist. In this article, to evaluate Schellenberg's claim, it has been shown that the structure of his argument is based on four assumptions, the correctness of which in the context of Islamic thought is seriously questionable. The first assumption: God must be at the highest level in terms of love and to all humans. While in Islamic thought, God's love is only for those who love Him and not all humans. The second is that: God must reveal himself to seekers without motives or illness. The article shows that this revelation was made comprehensively through the sending of messengers. Third premise: There are people who sincerely seek to understand God and have a relationship with Him but have not achieved such knowledge. In this paper it will be shown that neither the sincerity of these people's efforts, nor the great effort of these people, nor the lack of evidence are acceptable, because the knowledge of the message of the prophets is widely accepted. Fourth premise: It is expected that there is sufficient evidence to know such a God. This premise shows that the atheist is looking for a specific type of evidence that can be a witness to the existence of God. The believer can claim, based on the Islamic vision, that there are sufficient and numerous evidences for the existence of God that the atheist can achieve if he changes his expectations. As a result, these assumptions cannot be a prelude to Schellenberg's arguments. Therefore, the structure of his argument based on Islamic views collapses.
Keywords
Schellenberg
Divine hiddenness
God of love
non-resistant non-believers
Islamic perspective
Subjects
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