ABSTRACT
Al-Ghazālī's theological framework known as Ashʿarism is introduced in this chapter. This will be compared with the Divine Action Project to help contextualise Ashʿarism in the current discourse of science and religion. Subsequently, the problem of chance, the problem of naturalism, and the problem of inefficiency are evaluated. It is demonstrated that Ashʿarism is logically compatible with evolution under certain qualifications. Chance could be deemed problematic in two ways. First, it suggests God doesn't know what He is doing. Second, it questions teleology, i.e. was man really the purpose of creation? Ashʿarism espouses occasionalism as its divine action model. Accordingly, al-Ghazālī would not have a problem with chance, as God can still ordain a universe with an physically indeterminate structure that doesn't undermine His omnipotence and omniscience. Ultimate teleology can only be certainly known through revelation, which may or may not align with apparent teleology that we can determine from nature. Accordingly, evolution doesn't (and cannot) undermine ultimate teleology. Ashʿarism doesn't commit to philosophical naturalism but is compatible with evolution through methodological naturalism. Finally, the problem of inefficiency is an irrelevant question within the Ashʿarite paradigm seeing that God isn't bound by parameters of efficiency.
