Epigraph

God: there is no god but Him, the Ever Living, the Ever Watchful. Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him. All that is in the heavens and in the earth belongs to Him. Who is there that can intercede with Him except by His leave? He knows what is before them and what is behind them, but they do not comprehend any of His knowledge except what He wills. His throne extends over the heavens and the earth; it does not weary Him to preserve them both. He is the Most High, the Tremendous. (Al Quran 2:255)

Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times

At the very outset, let me suggest to the open minded readers, to read on and in the words of Sir Francis Bacon, a pioneer 17th century philosopher and scientist, “Read not to contradict … but to weigh and consider.”

Introduction

Occasionalism is the philosophical doctrine that God is the sole true cause of all events, with created things having no independent causal power. In the thought of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058–1111), a Persian theologian and philosopher, this view emerges directly from his emphasis on God’s absolute omniscience and omnipotence. Al-Ghazali argued that allowing any real efficacy to natural causes would compromise God’s all-encompassing knowledge and unlimited power. His critiques of Aristotelian and Avicennian causality in The Incoherence of the Philosophers led him to an occasionalist position: every occurrence is directly caused by God, and what we call “causes” in nature are merely occasions for God’s action. This article explores the historical context of al-Ghazali’s thought, the theological implications of divine omnipotence and omniscience, and how these ideas lead to occasionalism. It also compares al-Ghazali’s occasionalism with other views, such as the Aristotelian/Avicennian theory of causality and the occasionalism of Nicolas Malebranche, highlighting similarities and differences.

Historical Context: Al-Ghazali and Islamic Occasionalism

Al-Ghazali lived during a period of vibrant intellectual activity in the Islamic world, when Greek philosophy (especially Aristotelian ideas transmitted by thinkers like Avicenna (Ibn Sina)) was being actively studied and debated. On one side were the falāsifa (Islamic philosophers) who embraced Aristotle’s view of nature and causality; on the other side were theologians of the Ash‘arite school, to which al-Ghazali belonged. The Ash‘arites stressed God’s absolute sovereignty over creation, which had led earlier thinkers like al-Ash‘ari (d. 936) to espouse a proto-occasionalist view that no event occurs without God’s direct involvement​. Al-Ghazali inherited this theological climate and took it further: he launched a famous critique of the philosophers in his work Tahāfut al-Falāsifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers), targeting ideas he deemed incompatible with Islamic orthodoxy. Among these ideas were the philosophers’ beliefs in the eternity of the world, God’s limited knowledge of particulars, and the necessary connection between natural causes and effects​. Al-Ghazali viewed such doctrines as threats to core Islamic tenets like creation by God’s free will, God’s omniscience of every detail, and the possibility of miracles. His response was to reaffirm a view of God as the all-powerful, all-knowing creator who at every moment directly controls every occurrence in the universe. In doing so, he helped formalize occasionalism within Islamic theology, arguing that attributing real causal power to creatures detracts from divine omnipotence.

Al-Ghazali’s Critique of Aristotelian and Avicennian Causality

In Aristotelian (and Avicennian) philosophy, natural events are governed by inherent causal powers and necessary connections. Avicenna taught that if all the conditions for a cause are present, its effect must follow necessarily – a view sometimes called the “necessitation thesis.” For example, given the nature of fire and cotton, when fire touches cotton it will burn by necessity, according to the philosophers. Avicenna’s metaphysics held that everything other than God is a possible being that requires a cause, and once that cause fully exists, the effect is automatically necessitated​. In other words, in the Aristotelian framework, secondary causes (like fire, water, knives, etc.) have real efficacy rooted in their natures, and a fixed causal order governs the world.

Al-Ghazali found this view deeply problematic. In the Seventeenth Discussion of The Incoherence of the Philosophers, he specifically attacks the idea that there is a necessary connection between what we normally call a cause and its effect​. He argues that the philosophers’ position “conflicts with the existence of miracles, and God’s ability to change the course of nature at will.”​ If fire necessarily burns cotton, how could the miraculous protection of Abraham from the fire (as described in the Qur’an) occur? If decapitation necessarily causes death, how could God resurrect the dead or let a saint survive an attempted execution? Al-Ghazali insists that the purported causal necessity of natural events undermines God’s freedom to act and intervene. The very notion of an inviolable natural order, in his view, encroaches on God’s sovereignty – effectively placing limits on what God can do. This is a theological red line for al-Ghazali.

To illustrate his point, al-Ghazali gives concrete examples of what the philosophers consider “necessary” causal sequences and then denies the necessity. He writes that “the connection between what is habitually believed to be a cause and what is [habitually] believed to be an effect is not necessary.”​ For instance, people observe that drinking water quenches thirst, eating food produces satiety, fire causes burning, the sunrise causes daylight, medicine causes healing, and so on. These sequences are merely habitual correlations, not iron-clad necessities. Al-Ghazali emphasizes that each event is distinct and “neither the affirmation nor the negation” of one implies the affirmation or negation of the other​. God has simply created a pattern in which these events occur together, but that pattern can be altered at any time. “Their connection is due to the prior decree of God, who creates them side by side, not to [the connection] being necessary in itself, incapable of separation.”​ In fact, al-Ghazali asserts, “it is within [divine] power to create satiety without eating, to create death without decapitation, to continue life after decapitation,” and so on​. What the philosophers call impossible, al-Ghazali calls entirely possible by the power of God. By refuting Aristotelian causality, al-Ghazali paves the way for a view where God is the only causal agent – the essence of occasionalism.

For Aristotle and Avicenna the laws of nature are fundamental while for al-Ghazali God’s will is fundamental and the efficacy of laws of nature is granted by God’s Omnipotence.

Divine Omnipotence and Omniscience as the Basis for Occasionalism

Al-Ghazali’s occasionalism is grounded in a strong conception of God’s attributes, especially omnipotence (absolute power) and omniscience (absolute knowledge). In al-Ghazali’s theology, affirming these attributes means that no creature can independently cause anything – because if something occurred without God’s direct causation, or if creatures possessed autonomous causal power, God’s power and knowledge would be limited. The Ash‘arite creed that influenced al-Ghazali taught that God’s power is behind every effect at every moment. Thus, al-Ghazali holds that a proper understanding of divine omnipotence dictates that no limitation on divine power is acceptable​. Any supposed natural power that works on its own, without God, is seen as a limitation on God’s sovereignty​. Therefore, causality “properly understood (that is, in ways consistent with divine omnipotence) [is] only instantiated in cases of divine causation.”​

In simpler terms, only God truly causes effects in the world; what we call “causes” in nature are merely occasions for God to enact His will. This doctrinal stance was motivated by the desire to champion divine omnipotence against philosophical theories. As one scholar notes, “attributing causal efficacy to created entities detracts from divine omnipotence,” which is why al-Ghazali and his fellow Ash‘arites insisted that God is the sole causal agent​.

In addition to power, God’s knowledge in al-Ghazali’s view is all-encompassing. The philosophers (such as Avicenna) had argued that God only knows universals (general truths or laws) but not particular, changeable details, because knowing changing particulars would imply change in God. Al-Ghazali vehemently rejected this, citing the Islamic belief that “Not an atom’s weight is hidden from Him in the heavens or the earth.”​

According to al-Ghazali, God’s knowledge extends to “everything that exists and everything that is possible.”​

This omniscience complements occasionalism: since God knows every detail and every possibility, it is fitting that He also wills and creates each event directly. If events unfolded by independent natural laws, one might argue God simply set those laws and foreknows their outcomes. But al-Ghazali’s stance is stronger – God’s knowledge of each occurrence is intimate and direct because He Himself is producing each occurrence at every moment. By affirming God’s immediate knowledge of particulars, al-Ghazali reinforces the idea that nothing happens “behind God’s back,” so to speak. The doctrine of occasionalism thus serves to secure the sovereignty of God’s will and knowledge in every aspect of the cosmos. Any perceived regularity in nature is just the result of God’s constant governance, often described by theologians as the “custom” or “habit” of God (sunnat Allah), which He can depart from whenever He wills.

Al-Ghazali’s argument from omnipotence can be summarized as follows: God is capable of any logically possible event, and nothing has power except by His immediate bestowal. As one commentary on his philosophy puts it, “God is omnipotent, and so not limited to [any fixed number of] qualitatively distinct actions. As Ghazali says, God is capable of everything that is logically possible.”​

This means that from the perspective of metaphysics, created things have no inherent dispositions or natures that could necessitate an outcome apart from God. “The dispositions of substances really all reduce to the single disposition to behave in all and only those ways in which God makes them behave”, and they “contribute nothing to the course of events other than their absolute submission to the will of God.”​

In al-Ghazali’s occasionalism, fire has no built-in power to burn; it burns only when and because God creates the burning. Water does not necessarily quench; it quenches because God causes the quenching when one drinks. By this reasoning, nature is not an autonomous machine but a sequence of events each directly originating from divine omnipotence. Al-Ghazali believed this view upholds the true omnipotence of God far better than the philosopher’s view that God merely set up natural laws or distant causes. Theologically, it also preserves the possibility of miracles: God can always produce any outcome since nothing other than His will is ever truly making things happen​.

Omniscience (All-Knowing Nature of God)

The Quran emphasizes that Allah’s knowledge is absolute and all-encompassing. Many verses declare that nothing is hidden from God and that He knows everything, often using titles like “Al-ʿAlīm” (All-Knowing) or explicit statements of knowing “all things.” Below are verses explicitly affirming God’s omniscience, each with the Arabic text and an English translation (Sahih International, a widely accepted translation):

• Quran 2:29 – Arabic: “هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ لَكُم مَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ اسْتَوَىٰ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَسَوَّاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ ۚ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ” – English: “It is He who created for you all of that which is on the earth. Then He turned to the heaven and made them seven heavens. And He is Knowing of all things.”
• Quran 2:115 – Arabic: “وَلِلَّهِ ٱلْمَشْرِقُ وَٱلْمَغْرِبُ ۚ فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا۟ فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ وَٰسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ” – English: “To Allah belong the east and the west. So wherever you [might] turn, there is the Face of Allah. Indeed, Allah is All-Encompassing and All-Knowing.”​
• Quran 2:231 – Arabic: “وَإِذَا طَلَّقْتُمُ ٱلنِّسَاۤءَ فَبَلَغْنَ أَجَلَهُنَّ… وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ” – English: “…And fear Allah and know that Allah is Knowing of all things.”​
• Quran 2:282 – Arabic: “… وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ ٱللَّهُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ” – English: “…And fear Allah. And Allah teaches you. And Allah is Knowing of all things.”​
• Quran 4:176 – Arabic: “يَسْتَفْتُونَكَ قُلِ ٱللَّهُ يُفْتِيكُمْ… يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ أَن تَضِلُّوا۟ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ” – English: “They request from you a [legal] ruling. Say, ‘Allah gives you a ruling concerning one having neither descendants nor ascendants…’ Thus Allah makes clear to you [His law], lest you go astray. And Allah is Knowing of all things.”​
• Quran 5:97 – Arabic: “جَعَلَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْكَعْبَةَ… لِتَعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِی ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ وَمَا فِی ٱلْأَرْضِ ۙ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ” – English: “Allah has made the Kaʿbah, the Sacred House, a means of support for people… that you may know that Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth and that Allah is Knowing of all things.”​
• Quran 6:59 – Arabic: “وَعِندَهُۥ مَفَاتِحُ ٱلْغَيْبِ لَا يَعْلَمُهَآ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِی ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ ۚ وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلَّا يَعْلَمُهَا وَلَا حَبَّةٍ فِی ظُلُمَـٰتِ ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا رَطْبٍ وَلَا يَابِسٍ إِلَّا فِی كِتَـٰبٍ مُّبِينٍ” – English: “And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. He knows what is on the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but that He knows it, nor a grain in the darkness of the earth or anything fresh or dry but that it is [written] in a clear Record.”​
• Quran 7:89 – Arabic: “…رَبَّنَا ٱفْتَحْ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَ قَوْمِنَا بِٱلْحَقِّ وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ ٱلْفَـٰتِحِينَ” – English (excerpt): “…Our Lord, You have encompassed all things in knowledge… upon Allah we have relied. Our Lord, decide between us and our people in truth, and You are the best of those who give decision” (affirming that God’s knowledge extends to everything)​.
• Quran 8:75 – Arabic: “…وَأُولُو ٱلْأَرْحَامِ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلَىٰ بِبَعْضٍ… إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ” – English: “…And blood relatives are more entitled [to inheritance] in the Book of Allah. Indeed, Allah is Knowing of all things.”​
• Quran 9:115 – Arabic: “وَمَا كَانَ ٱللَّهُ لِيُضِلَّ قَوْمًۢا… إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ” – English: “And Allah would not let a people stray after He has guided them until He makes clear to them what they should avoid. Indeed, Allah is Knowing of all things.”​
• Quran 10:61 – Arabic: “…وَمَا يَعْزُبُ عَن رَّبِّكَ مِن مِّثْقَالِ ذَرَّةٍۢ فِی ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِی ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَلَآ أَصْغَرَ مِن ذَٟلِكَ وَلَآ أَكْبَرَ إِلَّا فِی كِتَٰبٖ مُّبِينٖ” – English: “…Not even an atom’s weight in the earth or in the sky escapes your Lord’s knowledge, nor is there anything smaller or larger, but that it is in a clear record.”​
• Quran 24:35 – Arabic: “ٱللَّهُ نُورُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ… وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ” – English: “Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth… (He strikes metaphors for mankind), and Allah is Knowing of all things.”​
• Quran 24:64 – Arabic: “أَلَآ إِنَّ لِلَّهِ مَا فِی ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ… وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ” – English: “Unquestionably, to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and earth… and He will inform them of what they did. And Allah is Knowing of all things.”​
• Quran 33:40 – Arabic: “مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَآ أَحَدٖ مِّن رِّجَالِكُمْ… وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٗا” – English: “Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and the seal of the prophets. And ever is Allah, of all things, Knowing.”​
• Quran 33:54 – Arabic: “إِن تُبْدُوا۟ شَيْـًٔا أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا” – English: “Whether you reveal a thing or conceal it, indeed Allah is ever, of all things, Knowing.”​
• Quran 49:16 – Arabic: “قُلْ أَتُعَلِّمُونَ ٱللَّهَ بِدِينِكُمْ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِی ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ وَمَا فِی ٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ” – English: “Say, ‘Do you inform Allah of your religion while Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, and Allah is Knowing of all things?’”​
• Quran 58:7 – Arabic: “أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِی ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ وَمَا فِی ٱلْأَرْضِ… إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ” – English: “Do you not know that Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth? … Indeed, Allah is Knowing of all things.”​
• Quran 59:22 – Arabic: “هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِي لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ عَالِمُ ٱلْغَيْبِ وَٱلشَّهَـٰدَةِ هُوَ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ” – English: “He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed; He is the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.”​
• Quran 64:11 – Arabic: “مَآ أَصَابَ مِن مُّصِيبَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَمَن يُؤْمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ يَهْدِ قَلْبَهُۥ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ” – English: “No disaster strikes except by permission of Allah. And whoever believes in Allah – He will guide his heart. And Allah is Knowing of all things.”​
• Quran 65:12 – Arabic: “ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَـٰوَ ٰتٍ وَمِنَ الْأَرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ… وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عِلْمًا” – English: “It is Allah who has created seven heavens and of the earth, the like of them. His command descends among them so you may know that Allah is over all things competent and that Allah has encompassed all things in knowledge.”​

(The last verse above beautifully combines both omnipotence and omniscience in one statement.)

Omnipotence (All-Powerful Nature of God)

The Quran also stresses that Allah is almighty and capable of doing anything. A common Quranic expression is “ʿalá kulli shayʾin qadīr” – “able to do all things” or “over all things competent/powerful.” The verses below explicitly affirm God’s omnipotence:

• Quran 2:20 – Arabic: “يَكَادُ ٱلْبَرْقُ يَخْطَفُ أَبْصَٰرَهُمْ… إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ” – English: “…The lightning almost snatches away their sight. Whenever it flashes for them, they walk therein; but when darkness comes over them, they stand still. And if Allah willed, He could take away their hearing and sight. Indeed, Allah is over all things Competent.”​
• Quran 2:106 – Arabic: “مَا نَنسَخْ مِنْ ءَايَةٍ أَوْ نُنسِهَا نَأْتِ بِخَيْرٖ مِّنْهَآ أَوْ مِثْلِهَاۗ ۗ أَلَمْ تَعْلَمْ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ” – English: “We do not abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten except that We bring forth [one] better than it or similar to it. Do you not know that Allah is over all things competent?”​
• Quran 2:109 – Arabic: “…فَاعْفُوا۟ وَٱصْفَحُوا۟ حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَ ٱللَّهُ بِأَمْرِهِۦۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ” – English: “…So pardon and overlook until Allah delivers His command. Indeed, Allah is Able to do all things.”​
• Quran 2:148 – Arabic: “وَلِكُلّٖ وِجْهَةٌ هُوَ مُوَلِّيهَا… إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ” – English: “For each [community] is a direction to which it faces [in prayer]. So race to [all that is] good. Wherever you may be, Allah will bring you forth [for judgment] all together. Indeed, Allah is over all things powerful.”​
• Quran 2:259 – Arabic: “…فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُۥ قَالَ أَعْلَمُ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ” – English: “[Allah brought a dead city to life before his eyes.] When it became clear to him, he said, ‘I know that Allah is over all things capable.’”​
• Quran 2:284 – Arabic: “لِّلَّهِ مَا فِي ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ وَمَا فِي ٱلْأَرْضِ… وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ” – English: “To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. Whether you show what is within yourselves or conceal it… Allah forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills. And Allah is over all things competent.”​
• Quran 3:26 – Arabic: “قُلِ ٱللَّهُمَّ مَـٰلِكَ ٱلْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِی ٱلْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَآءُ… إِنَّكَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ” – English: “Say, ‘O Allah, Owner of Sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will and You take sovereignty away from whom You will. You honor whom You will and humble whom You will. In Your hand is [all] good. Indeed, You are over all things competent.’”​
• Quran 3:165 – Arabic: “أَوَلَمَّآ أَصَٰبَتْكُم مُّصِيبَةٌ… إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ” – English: “Why is it that when a [disaster] struck you (at Uḥud)… you said, ‘From where is this?’ Say, ‘It is from yourselves.’ Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.”​
• Quran 3:189 – Arabic: “وَلِلَّهِ مُلْكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ” – English: “And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is over all things competent.”​
• Quran 5:17 – Arabic: “…وَلِلَّهِ مُلْكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ” – English: “…To Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them. He creates what He wills, and Allah is over all things capable.”​
• Quran 5:19 – Arabic: “يَـٰٓأَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ قَدْ جَآءَكُمْ رَسُولُنَا… وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ” – English: “O People of the Scripture, there has come to you Our Messenger… (so you have no excuse) — and Allah is Able to do all things.”​
• Quran 5:40 – Arabic: “أَلَمْ تَعْلَمْ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَهُۥ مُلْكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ… وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ” – English: “Do you not know that to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth? He punishes whom He wills and forgives whom He wills. And Allah is over all things competent.”​
• Quran 8:41 – Arabic: “وَاعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّمَا غَنِمْتُم مِّن شَيْءٖ… وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ” – English: “And know that anything you obtain of war booty – then indeed, for Allah is one fifth of it… if you have believed in Allah… on the day of criterion (Badr)… And Allah is over all things powerful.”​
• Quran 9:39 – Arabic: “إِلَّا تَنفِرُوا۟ يُعَذِّبْكُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمٗا… وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ” – English: “If you do not go forth (for battle), He will punish you with a painful punishment and will replace you with another people… and Allah is over all things competent.”​
• Quran 16:77 – Arabic: “وَلِلَّهِ غَيْبُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِۚ وَمَآ أَمْرُ ٱلسَّاعَةِ إِلَّا كَلَمْحِ ٱلْبَصَرِ أَوْ هُوَ أَقْرَبُۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ” – English: “To Allah belongs the unseen of the heavens and the earth. The coming of the Hour is only as a blink of an eye, or even nearer. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.”​
• Quran 24:45 – Arabic: “وَٱللَّهُ خَلَقَ كُلَّ دَآبَّةٖ مِّن مَّآءٖ… إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ” – English: “And Allah has created every living creature from water. Some of them move on their bellies, some on two legs, and some on four. Allah creates what He wills. Indeed, Allah is Able to do all things.”​
• Quran 29:20 – Arabic: “قُلْ سِيرُوا۟ فِي ٱلْأَرْضِ فَٱنظُرُوا۟ كَيْفَ بَدَأَ ٱلْخَلْقَ… إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ” – English: “Say, ‘Travel through the land and observe how He began creation. Then Allah will produce the final creation (resurrection). Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.’”​
• Quran 33:27 – Arabic: “وَأَوْرَثَكُمْ أَرْضَهُمْ وَدِيَٰرَهُمْ… وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٗا” – English: “And He caused you to inherit their land, their homes, and their wealth, and a land you had not trodden. And ever is Allah, over all things, Competent.”​
• Quran 35:1 – Arabic: “ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ فَاطِرِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ… إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ” – English: “All praise is due to Allah, Creator of the heavens and earth, who made the angels messengers having wings two, three or four. He increases in creation what He wills. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.”​
• Quran 48:21 – Arabic: “وَأُخْرَىٰ لَمْ تَقْدِرُوا۟ عَلَيْهَا… وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٗا” – English: “And [He promises] other [victories] that you were [so far] unable to achieve, which Allah has already encompassed. And ever is Allah, over all things, Powerful.”​
• Quran 59:6 – Arabic: “…وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُسَلِّطُ رُسُلَهُۥ عَلَىٰ مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ” – English: “…But Allah gives authority to His messengers over whom He wills. And Allah is Able to do all things.”​
• Quran 65:12 – Arabic: “ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَـٰوَ ٰتٖ… لِّتَعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ…” – English: “It is Allah who created seven heavens and of the earth, the like of them. The command descends among them so you may know that Allah is over all things competent…”​

Each of the above verses clearly attributes omnipotence to God, stating that nothing whatsoever is outside of His power, just as the earlier set of verses affirm His omniscience, that nothing is outside of His knowledge. In summary, the Quran repeatedly reminds believers that Allah is “All-Knowing” (ʿalīmun bi-kulli shayʾ, knowing of every thing)​ and “All-Powerful” (ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr, having power over every thing)​.

In short, divine omnipotence leads to the negation of independent secondary causes, and divine omniscience implies God’s intimate governance of every detail – together yielding the occasionalist doctrine that God alone does everything.

Occasionalism in Al-Ghazali’s Thought: Key Features and Implications

Given the above foundations, al-Ghazali’s occasionalism can be summarized by a few key features:

• God as the Only Cause: Every event in the universe is directly caused by God’s will. Creaturely things do not have causal efficacy of their own. This is “the doctrine that God is the sole immediate cause of all events, to the exclusion of any causal participation on the part of creatures.”​ For al-Ghazali, saying “fire burned the cloth” is a shorthand: in reality, God caused the cloth to burn in the presence of fire. The fire was the occasion for God’s action, not a true cause.
• No Necessary Connections in Nature: What we perceive as cause-effect connections are habits of correlation that God has established, not necessary links. Al-Ghazali stresses that logically and metaphysically, any effect could occur without its usual cause, if God so wills. The regularity of nature is maintained only by God’s constant governance, not by an independent natural order​. This means miracles are not violations of nature’s true laws (since nature has no autonomous laws), but rather changes in God’s customary way of ordering events.
• Emphasis on Miracles and Divine Freedom: A major impetus for al-Ghazali’s occasionalism was to safeguard the possibility of miracles and underscore God’s freedom to act. By denying that causes necessitate their effects, he made room for events like miraculous healings or suspension of the fire’s burning power, which the Aristotelian philosophers had deemed impossible​. Al-Ghazali’s God is a personal agent who can at any moment do something entirely unexpected, because nothing binds or constrains His power. This reinforces a religious worldview where prayer and reliance on God are meaningful – ultimately, only God’s will determines outcomes.
• Theological Implications for Human Action: Al-Ghazali extended occasionalism to human acts as well. In Ash‘arite doctrine, even our own actions are created by God, though we acquire responsibility for them through our intentions (the theory of “kasb” or acquisition). While the article’s focus is on natural causation, it’s worth noting that occasionalism raised questions about free will and ethics: if God does everything, in what sense do humans act? Al-Ghazali addresses this by a subtle distinction – God creates the act at the moment of our choice, thus He is the cause, but we are accountable for the choice. This delicate point shows how far al-Ghazali was willing to go to affirm omnipotence: even the motions of our limbs ultimately trace to God’s power. The theological implication is a universe utterly dependent on God at each instant, leaving no room for independent causal initiative, yet holding humans accountable by divine justice (a resolution that would be debated by later scholars).
• Epistemological Humility about Causation: Al-Ghazali’s occasionalism also carries an epistemological message: humans cannot a priori know the true cause of things by reason alone, because what we think of as causes are not necessary. Our knowledge of how the world works (e.g. that bread nourishes or fire burns) is based on God’s consistent habit, but God could alter that sequence. This introduces a level of skepticism about the deterministic claims of natural philosophy. Al-Ghazali famously is sometimes compared to David Hume for denying necessary causality, though their motivations differ. Al-Ghazali was not primarily a skeptic of science, but he did want to remind us that all causal knowledge is contingent on God’s will.

In summary, al-Ghazali’s occasionalism thoroughly intertwines metaphysics with theology. The world is like a grand theater where God is the only actor, and what we call “characters” (creatures) are in reality just costumes or instruments through which the sole actor works. This view was meant to glorify God’s role as the sustainer of every moment of existence and to eliminate any notion of nature running on autopilot. The cost of this view, however, is that it makes the concept of stable natural laws merely a description of God’s habitual practice. Critics then and now have pointed out that occasionalism can make the world seem arbitrary or undermine the incentive to search for natural causes. Al-Ghazali would respond that investigating how God usually orders the world is still valuable (indeed he did not deny the study of medicine, astronomy, etc., as the list of “connected things” shows​), but one must always acknowledge God as the true cause behind all phenomena.

Comparison with Nicolas Malebranche’s Occasionalism

Nicolas Malebranche, a 17th-century French philosopher and Oratorian priest, arrived at an occasionalist philosophy independently in a Christian context. Centuries after al-Ghazali, the idea of occasionalism appeared in European philosophy, most prominently in the work of Nicolas Malebranche (1638–1715). Malebranche was influenced by Cartesian philosophy and the problem of how mind and body interact, but his conclusions echo al-Ghazali’s in striking ways. He taught that God is the only genuine cause and that what we call causes in nature (including the human will moving the body) are merely occasions for God’s action. Malebranche famously stated that “there is only one true cause because there is only one true God; …the power of each thing is nothing but the will of God; …all natural causes are not true causes but only occasional causes.”​

This assertion could have come straight from an Ash‘arite theologian – it affirms divine omnipotence and the nullity of creaturely power in almost the same terms as al-Ghazali.

While both al-Ghazali and Malebranche embrace global occasionalism (applying to all events in nature), their motivations had different emphases. Al-Ghazali’s motivation was strongly theological, defending the possibility of miracles and God’s unrestricted power in an Islamic framework. Malebranche’s motivation was also theological (protecting God’s sovereignty and addressing the mind-body problem under an omnipotent God), but he developed his view within the rationalist philosophy of his time. For Malebranche, occasionalism solved the puzzle in Cartesian dualism of how an immaterial mind can affect a material body: it doesn’t – God moves the body on the occasion of the mind’s willing. Likewise, when a billiard ball moves another, Malebranche would say God imparts motion to the second ball on the occasion of the first ball’s impact. The core principle is the same as al-Ghazali’s: only God truly has causal efficacy.

Both thinkers also cite divine omnipotence and uniqueness as key reasons for occasionalism. Malebranche, for instance, argued that God’s general will maintains the world from moment to moment, a concept often encapsulated in his idea that God’s conservation of the world is a “continued creation.” If God must sustain the existence of things at every moment (a notion shared by many theists), then the difference between creating something and maintaining its existence blurs. Malebranche pushes this to say that every instance of causation is essentially God re-creating or re-configuring the state of the world at that moment. In effect, God recreates the motion of the second billiard ball rather than the first ball truly imparting its motion. Al-Ghazali did not articulate a “continuous creation” argument in those terms, but the underlying idea that God’s power is needed at each moment for anything to happen is implicit in his view.

Despite these similarities, there are some differences in nuance. Al-Ghazali operated in a milieu where occasionalism was part of a theological school (Ash‘arism) and was opposed by both Muslim philosophers like Averroes (Ibn Rushd) and some rival theologians. Malebranche’s occasionalism, on the other hand, was one proposal among early modern European solutions to causation and divine action – others being René Descartes’ unclear interactionism, Baruch Spinoza’s single-substance determinism, or Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’s theory of pre-established harmony (where God sets up synchronized but non-interacting substances). Malebranche’s view was challenged by critics like Leibniz, who objected that occasionalism made God excessively involved in trivial matters or even the author of evil. Al-Ghazali faced similar criticism from Averroes, who in The Incoherence of the Incoherence (his response to al-Ghazali) accused him of destroying the intelligibility of nature. Both Malebranche and al-Ghazali had to defend how God’s direct causation of everything did not undermine the reality of creation or God’s wisdom in ordaining an orderly universe.

In comparing al-Ghazali and Malebranche, we see a convergence of ideas across very different cultures: both insist on God’s continual governance as the explanation for causation. Malebranche even uses language that resonates with Ash‘arite occasionalism, calling God the “only true cause” and creatures “occasional causes.”​ It is a testament to how the concept of divine omnipotence can lead to similar philosophical conclusions in different religious traditions. Both thinkers also illustrate occasionalism’s radical implication: natural science might describe how events regularly follow each other, but the true power lies beyond nature. However, neither al-Ghazali nor Malebranche was anti-science; they were trying to clarify the metaphysical source of causation, not deny the description of patterns. Malebranche, for example, fully accepted the laws of motion discovered by science – he simply thought those laws were the way God ordinarily operates. Likewise, al-Ghazali did not dispute factual observations of causes and effects; he reinterpreted them as the customary will of God rather than an independent necessity.

In summary, Nicolas Malebranche’s occasionalism serves as a useful parallel to al-Ghazali’s. Both uphold divine omnipotence, argue against inherent causal powers in creatures, and allow for miracles (in a Christian context, Malebranche would allow that God could deviate from the usual order when He wants, similar to the concept of miracles). These parallels highlight how occasionalism can arise in different settings whenever philosophers take God’s all-powerful nature to its logical extreme in explaining how the world works.

Occasionalism vs. Aristotelian and Avicennian Views of Causality

It will be helpful to contrast occasionalism with the Aristotelian/Avicennian view of causality to appreciate the philosophical stakes. The differences between the two can be summarized as follows:

• Causal Powers in Nature: Aristotelian/Avicennian view: Natural things have inherent causal powers due to their natures. For example, fire has the power to heat and burn because of its elemental nature, and opium causes sleep because of its “cold” and “dry” properties (to use an Avicennian medical theory). Occasionalist view (al-Ghazali): Created things have no intrinsic powers at all – any appearance of power is really God’s power. Creatures are “powerless” in themselves; as al-Ghazali would say, fire does not burn – God creates burning when fire is present. Thus, what we call laws of nature are just descriptions of God’s habits. Creatures are completely dependent, with “nothing but the will of God” as their operative force​.
• Necessary vs. Contingent Connection: Aristotelian/Avicennian: Once a cause is present, the effect follows of necessity (barring any interference). There is a necessary connection – given the cause, the effect cannot fail to occur. Avicenna explicitly claimed that because of the essence of cause and effect, “as long as [the cause] exists, it follows as a necessary consequence of its existence that it is the cause of [the effect’s existence].”​ Occasionalist: There is no necessary connection between any two events in creation. Al-Ghazali writes “it is not a necessity of the existence of the one that the other should exist, nor a necessity of the nonexistence of the one that the other should not exist.”​ Fire could exist without burning occurring, and burning could occur without fire, if God so wills. The link is fully contingent on God’s decision each moment. Regularities are just that – regular, but not necessary. Miracles are thus naturally possible, whereas in a strict Aristotelian framework true miracles (violations of necessary connections) would be impossible or at least highly problematic.
• God’s Role as First Cause: Aristotelian/Avicennian: God (or a First Principle) is the ultimate cause of the universe – for Avicenna, God is the Necessary Being who causes existence, and in Aristotle’s view, a Prime Mover who imparts motion. However, after the initial act of creation or imparting of motion, secondary causes take over the day-to-day running of the cosmos. In Avicenna’s emanationist cosmology, God eternally emanates a chain of intellects and spheres, which then govern the world in a hierarchical cause-effect structure. God’s providence operates through these secondary causes. Occasionalist: God’s role is not just first cause but the only direct cause at all times. There are no truly “secondary” causes—creatures are at best instruments. Al-Ghazali effectively collapses the distinction between primary cause and secondary cause: everything is a primary cause act of God. The universe is sustained by continuous divine input. This means God is intensely involved in every detail (which to the Aristotelian might seem to make God more like a micromanager, something they often philosophically resisted because they saw it as undermining the dignity or orderliness of God’s action).
• Nature of Natural Laws: Aristotelian/Avicennian: Natural laws are built into the fabric of the world via the natures of things. They have a certain stability and can be known through reason and observation. Miracles, if acknowledged (Averroes and Avicenna were skeptical of miracles as violations of natural order), would be exceptions that are hard to explain. Aristotelians like Thomas Aquinas (who came later and knew of these debates) accepted that God could work miracles, but they saw miracles not as breaking a necessary link, but as God temporarily doing something beyond the ordinary course of nature. Aquinas, aligning with Aristotle, argued for “secondary causation” – God gives creatures real causal powers, and those powers truly produce effects, albeit with God as the sustaining ground of those powers. Thus, Aquinas took a concurrentist view: causes in nature are real, but they concur with God’s primary causality​. Occasionalist: Natural laws have no autonomous efficacy – they are descriptions of how God usually behaves. If fire typically burns, it’s only because God has so decided to usually operate that way. The integrity of natural natures is, in a sense, an illusion; as one critic puts it, occasionalism “undermines the integrity of created natures” since if creatures have no genuine causal powers, their apparent nature is merely a facade​. For al-Ghazali, this is not a problem – creatures were never meant to sustain themselves. The law is just “God’s custom” (sunnat Allah), and a miracle is simply God choosing a different event sequence than the usual. Nature’s regularity is respected as long as God so wills, but it carries no necessity that binds God.
• Philosophical Consequences: In the Aristotelian view, science and philosophy can discover true causes and reasons for things (why fire burns, why the planets move, etc.) because those causes really exist. In the occasionalist view, one can discover the patterns of God’s action (the how of phenomena), but not some independent why in terms of natural necessity. The rational intelligibility of the world is seen differently: Aristotelians believe in a rational order inherent in nature, while occasionalists attribute that order entirely to God’s rationality and will. Averroes famously accused al-Ghazali of destroying the very foundation of science and philosophy by denying necessary causality – suggesting that if taken to extreme, occasionalism would mean there is no reason to expect the sun to rise tomorrow as it did today (since only God’s habit makes it so). Al-Ghazali would reply that trusting in God’s consistent habit is enough for practical life, but one should always acknowledge the contingent nature of creation under God’s control.

In sum, occasionalism stands in stark contrast to the Aristotelian/Avicennian outlook. Aristotelian philosophy provided a naturalistic explanation of causation (even if ultimately tracing back to a First Cause), whereas al-Ghazali’s occasionalism provides a theocentric explanation of causation. The contrast can be seen as part of a broader debate: do causal powers reside in nature itself (with God as a distant originator or concurrent supporter), or do they reside solely in God? Al-Ghazali unambiguously chose the latter, reshaping Islamic philosophy’s approach to causality. Avicenna and later Averroes leaned toward the former, preserving an Aristotelian sense of order. Interestingly, this debate did not end in the Islamic world – it continued in Christian medieval and early modern thought (as noted with Aquinas vs. occasionalists like Malebranche, or later the debate between empiricists and rationalists on causation). Occasionalism remained a minority position in Western philosophy, but in Islamic theology, al-Ghazali’s influence helped make occasionalist thinking (or at least a very strong form of divine concurrence) the dominant view in Sunni kalām for centuries.

Conclusion

Al-Ghazali’s philosophical analysis of causality, grounded in God’s omniscience and omnipotence, led him to one of the most robust formulations of occasionalism in pre-modern thought. In historical context, his stance was a reaction to the growing influence of Aristotelian and Avicennian ideas that, in his eyes, compromised God’s sovereignty. Theologically, al-Ghazali’s occasionalism safeguarded the belief in miracles, divine freedom, and God’s intimate knowledge of the world’s every detail. By denying natural necessity, he ensured that nothing lies outside the scope of God’s will and knowledge – a point he saw as essential to proper worship and reliance on God. His arguments from omnipotence emphasize that any attribution of independent power to creatures is an infringement on the creator’s omnipotence​. Likewise, his insistence on God’s total knowledge of particulars reinforced the idea that God is the immediate supervisor of every event, not a distant architect​.

When compared to other occasionalist thinkers like Nicolas Malebranche, we find a shared conviction that one divine cause underlies all apparent causes, even if they arrived at that view from different paths. Occasionalism, whether in al-Ghazali’s Islamic framework or Malebranche’s Christian framework, represents a radical commitment to divine agency in explaining how the world operates. This view starkly contrasts with Aristotelian and Avicennian causality, which afford nature a degree of autonomy and necessity that al-Ghazali could not accept. The tension between divine omnipotence and secondary causality continues to be a point of discussion in philosophy of religion: occasionalism sits at one end of that spectrum, essentially eliminating secondary causes, while views influenced by Aristotle or Aquinas sit at the other, affirming a cooperative model between God and nature.

In closing, al-Ghazali’s occasionalism is a cornerstone of his legacy. It showcases how philosophical reasoning and theological commitment can combine to produce a distinctive view of reality. By upholding that every flicker of a flame, every drop of rain, and every beat of our hearts is directly willed by God, al-Ghazali paints a picture of a world utterly dependent on the divine. Whether one finds this picture compelling or problematic, it has undeniably been influential. It provoked responses from critics like Averroes, informed later Islamic thought, and finds echoes in Western philosophy’s grappling with causation. Ultimately, al-Ghazali’s position forces us to consider what it truly means for God to be omnipotent and omniscient: for him, it meant that God is the only real power and knowledge behind the scenes of a cosmos that is, at every moment, the product of God’s active will.

Sources:

• Marmura, M. E., et al., as cited in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Discussion on al-Ghazali and causal necessity​plato.stanford.edu​plato.stanford.edu.
• Al-Ghazali, Tahāfut al-Falāsifa (Incoherence of the Philosophers), 17th Discussion: on causality and miracles​iep.utm.edu​iep.utm.edu.
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Occasionalism” – overview of occasionalist doctrine in Islamic and Western thought​plato.stanford.edu​plato.stanford.edu.
• Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Al-Ghazali” – analysis of al-Ghazali’s arguments on God’s knowledge and causality​iep.utm.edu​iep.utm.edu.
• Nadler, Steven. Occasionalism: Causation Among the Cartesians. (For context on Malebranche and others.)
• Griffel, Frank. Al-Ghazali’s Philosophical Theology. (Discussion of al-Ghazali’s stance on causation and interpretation of his occasionalism.)