Al‑Ghazali and the Impossibility of Infinite Regress: A Rational Proof of God’s Existence

Abstract

The question of whether the universe has a beginning or has existed eternally remains one of the most profound in both philosophy and science. Al‑Ghazālī, in his Kalām Cosmological Argument, asserted that an actual infinite regress of causes is impossible and that the universe must therefore have a temporal beginning, dependent upon God. This article critically re‑examines his reasoning, situating it within both classical critiques and contemporary scientific discourse. Philosophical challenges from Ibn Rushd (Averroes), David Hume, and Immanuel Kant are explored, alongside modern analogies such as Hilbert’s Hotel and mathematical paradoxes of infinity. Scientific perspectives are also considered, including relativity, the Borde–Guth–Vilenkin theorem, the thermodynamic arrow of time, and cosmological observations that determine the universe's age to be approximately 13.8 billion years. Taken together, these philosophical and scientific considerations reinforce the plausibility of al‑Ghazālī’s central claim: that an infinite regress of temporal causes is metaphysically and physically untenable.