Dahrīyah

Dahrīyah, in Islām, the unbelievers who contend that the course of time (Arabic: dahr) is all that governs their existence. They were so called because of a reference to them in the Qurʾān, in which they are repudiated for saying, “There is no other than our present life; we die and we live and nothing but the course of time destroys us” (45:24).

The Dahrīyah are portrayed in Islāmic theological literature as naturalists and materialists who deny the existence of anything that cannot be perceived by the senses. In scholarly circles, however, there has been a great deal of confusion as to the origin and precise doctrines of the Dahrīyah. Al-Ghazālī, in the 11th century, traced their origin to ancient Greek philosophy and distinguished them from the naturalists (ṭabīʿīyūn), who speak of a creating deity while the Dahrīyah recognize only natural laws. Others described them as believers in a supreme power but not in a soul or demons and angels.

In the popular imagination of devout Muslims, Dahrīyah are opportunists who conduct their lives according to their selfish desires; they do not make a distinction between man and inanimate objects and are devoid of compassion and human feelings.