I come across many modern Muslim discussions that discuss medieval metaphysics in light of modern physics. That's not how our own medieval scholars thought up their metaphysics. They didn't exactly have giant telescopes or electron microscopes.
Our classical intellectuals didn't construct a theology that matched their metaphysics; they formulated a metaphysics that matched their theology. The purpose of their metaphysics was to construct an understanding of nature that was consistent with their theology.
I'm convinced that this goes even further. Their theology itself, especially in its details (in Arabic, دقائق), was constructed to match their politics; and their politics themselves were a reflection of their values, social class, and lived realities.
This is why I think it's *impossible* to understand the theological dialectics of classical Islam without understanding the underlying political history; and beyond that, the social and economic history of the region's peoples. The message of Islam interacted with all of this.
The very core of Islam isn't found in metaphysics or theology or rituals or fiqh or exegesis. The very core is the values. These values interact with a prior human sense of morality and dignity; they do not, as some presume, give us a sense of morality and dignity we didn't have.
