Kādî Abdülcebbâr ve David Ross’ta Fiillerin Ahlaki Değeri
The Moral Status of Actions in Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār and David Ross

Summary/Abstract: Purpose: This study aims to re-evaluate Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār’s wujuh theory as an original method that bases the determination of the moral value of actions not only on their intrinsic attributes but also on relational elements such as intention, context, purpose and consequence. The central theme of discussion in this study is that the wujuh theory, beyond the established al-Muʿtazila and al-Ashʿariyya approaches in classical kalam, presents a rational and contextual paradigm that elucidates the multidimensional nature of moral judgment. In this context, the article seeks to make visible the conceptual connection that kalam can establish with contemporary ethical thought by comparing Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār’s approach with David Ross’s prima facie duties theory, one of the pluralistic and intuitionist examples of modern Western moral philosophy. Method: The research is of a qualitative nature. The study was also conducted within the framework of the historical-comparative method. The wujuh theory proposed by Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār initially analyzed conceptually within its theological framework before being systematically compared with David Ross’s prima facie duties theory, which is based on intuitionist rationalism. This comparison aims not at tracing a direct historical influence but at revealing the structural similarities between the two thinkers’ understandings of moral pluralism, which they developed on different metaphysical and epistemological grounds. The primary sources employed in this article are Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār’s al-Mughnī fī Abwāb al-Tawḥīd wa-l-ʿAdl, specifically volumes 6-1, 12, and 17 of the Ṭāhā Ḥusayn edition. Another foundational source is the same author’s Sharḥ al-Uṣūl al-Khamsa, published by the Turkish Directorate of Manuscripts. The conceptual framework related to the wujūh theory has been constructed on the basis of the relevant sections of these works. The primary sources for the section on David Ross’s theory of prima facie duties are Ross’s The Right and the Good and Foundations of Ethics. Findings: The present study demonstrates that Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār’s wujuh theory serves to further the al-Muʿtazila comprehension of ethics by establishing a balance between the intrinsic values of actions and their contextual aspects. The theory argues that actions should not be judged by singular and immutable principles but through the combined assessment of intention, consequence, and conditions. In this respect, the wujuh theory offers a rational-theological model that takes into account both the cognitive capacity of reason and the function of revelation. Conversely, David Ross’s prima facie duties approach, on the other hand, grounds the same pluralistic and contextual principles in rational intuition within a secular framework. Therefore, despite the fact that the two thinkers refer to different sources, their approaches are found to be converging on the point that moral judgment is plural, relational, and context-dependent. Conclusion: Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār’s theory of wujūh can be said to explain the moral value of actions through an approach that takes into account such elements as intention, context, purpose, and consequence. David Ross’s prima facie duties theory, in turn, proposes the reconstruction of ethics on the basis of secular rationality through a pluralistic approach. Both theories demonstrate that moral judgments cannot be reduced to singular principles but rather emerge through the evaluation of intention, context, and consequence, thereby making possible a multi-layered ethical understanding. This comparison reveals that kalam provides a universal intellectual ground within contemporary ethical discussions.

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