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(d. 850), ABU’L-FAŻL AL-HAMDĀNI, also called al-Ašajj ("scar-face" or "skull-broken"), Muʿtazilite theologian who lived in Baghdad.A version of this article is available in printVolume XIV, Fascicle 4, pp. 347-348 JAʿFAR B. MOḤAMMAD B. ḤARB, ABU’L-FAŻL AL-HAMDĀNI (d. 236/850 at the age of 59), also called al-Ašajj (‘scar-face’ or ‘skull-broken’), Muʿtazilite theologian who lived in Baghdad. His family was of Yemeni descent, as is shown by the nesba (cf. Masʿudi, Moruj, ed. Pellat, V, p. 21), and the reading Hamaḏāni, which would turn him into a Persian (Nader, p. 373; Sezgin, GAS I, …

[German Version] I. Philosophy – II. Islamic Theology I. Philosophy Atomism is the epistemological paradigm maintaining that all things (including living creatures) are composed of tiny indivisible units, which account for their qualities (Gk ἄτομον/ átomon, “indivisible”). Atomism contrasts with holism, which understands all objects and phenomena not as composites but as divisible wholes. Both theories seek to explain the nature of things. This a…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Bible – III. Judaism – IV. Islam –V. Philosophy of Religion – VI. Dogmatics – VII. Practical Theology I. Religious Studies Anthropomorphism denotes the conception of God or gods in human form. It derives from the personification of spiritual events (animatism), the idea of attributing a soul to stones, trees or places (Animism) or the idea of a power indwelling objects or persons (dyna-mism). In r…