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Early Christian-Muslim Debate on the Unity of God History of Christian-Muslim Relations

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Early Christian-Muslim Debate on the Unity of God History of Christian-Muslim Relations Early Christian-Muslim Debate on the Unity of God History of Christian-Muslim Relations Editorial Board David Thomas (University of Birmingham) Tarif Khalidi (American University of Beirut) Gabriel Said Reynolds (University of Notre Dame) Mark Swanson (Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago) VOLUME 21 Christians and Muslims have been involved in exchanges over matters of faith and morality since the founding of Islam. Attitudes between the faiths today are deeply coloured by the legacy of past encounters, and often preserve centuries-old negative views. The History of Christian-Muslim Relations, Texts and Studies presents the surviving record of past encounters in authoritative, fully introduced text editions and annotated translations, and also monograph and collected studies. It illustrates the development in mutual perceptions as these are contained in surviving Christian and Muslim writings, and makes available the arguments and rhetorical strategies that, for good or for ill, have left their mark on attitudes today. The series casts light on a history marked by intellectual creativity and occasional breakthroughs in communication, although, on the whole beset by misunderstanding and misrepresentation. By making this history better known, the series seeks to contribute to improved recognition between Christians and Muslims in the future. The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/hcmr Early Christian-Muslim Debate on the Unity of God Three Christian Scholars and Their Engagement with Islamic Thought (9th Century C.E.) By Sara Leila Husseini LEIDEN | BOSTON Cover illustration: Mar Saba Monastery, Palestine. Photograph by Enas al-Muthaffar, 2014. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Husseini, Sara Leila. Early Christian-Muslim debate on the unity of God : three Christian scholars and their engagement with Islamic thought (9th century c.e.) / by Sara Leila Husseini. pages cm. — (History of Christian-Muslim relations ; 21) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-27838-7 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-27969-8 (e-book) 1. God— Simplicity—History of doctrines. 2. God (Islam). 3. Christianity and other religions—Islam. 4. Islam—Relations—Christianity. I. Title. BT148.H87 2014 231’.04409175927—dc23 2014020987 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual ‘Brill’ typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, ipa, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see brill.com/brill-typeface. issn 1570-7350 isbn 978 90 04 27838 7 (hardback) isbn 978 90 04 27969 8 (e-book) Copyright 2014 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill nv incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Nijhoff, Global Oriental and Hotei Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill nv provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, ma 01923, usa. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper. To my mother Mary Elizabeth and my father Rafiq Haidar Husseini For their unwavering love, unending support and utter faith. ∵ Contents Acknowledgements xi Introduction 1 Part 1 Three Arabic-Speaking Christian Theologians and Their Writings on the Doctrine of the Trinity (c. 800–850) 1 Historical and Intellectual Environment 11 Christians in the Islamic Empire: Historical Social and Linguistic Contexts 11 Historical Context 11 Social Context 12 Linguistic Environment 17 Christian Theologising on the Trinity 21 Philoxenus of Mabbug (d. 523) 24 John of Damascus (c. 675–c. 754) 26 Muslim Theologising on the Nature and Unity of God 30 Abū al Hudhayl (c. 750–c. 840) 33 Ibn Kullāb (d.c. 855) 35 Nature of kalām 37 Muslim Criticisms of the Doctrine of the Trinity 40 2 Theodore Abū Qurra (c. 750–c. 830) 47 Background 47 Biography 47 Historical Context 48 Intellectual Context 51 Works Relating to the Trinity 53 Setting the Context 55 Relationship between Faith and Reason 55 Christianity as the True Religion 56 Explanation of the Trinity 58 Scriptural Proofs 59 Rational Analogies 61 Attributes of God 64 viii contents Response to Muslim Questions 68 Theodore Abū Qurra’s Understanding of the Nature of God 74 3 Abū Rāʾiṭa Al-Takrītī (c. 755–c. 835) 77 Background 77 Biography 77 Historical Context 78 Intellectual Context 79 Works Relating to the Trinity 80 Setting the Context 83 Agreement that God is One 83 Explanation of the Trinity 86 Types of Oneness 86 Absolute vs. Relative Names 88 Response to Muslim Questions 97 Abū Rāʾiṭa’s Understanding of the Nature of God 99 4 ʿAmmār al-Baṣrī (d.c. 840) 105 Background 105 Biography 105 Historical Context 105 Intellectual Context 107 Works Relating to the Trinity 109 Setting the Context 112 What can be Known about God 112 Criticism of the Teaching that God has no ‘Word’ or ‘Life’ 115 God’s Relationship to His Word and Life 118 Explanation of the Trinity 120 Four ‘Categories’ 120 ‘One and Three’ is Not a Numerical Issue 123 Al-uqnūm and the Relationship Between Substance and Hypostases 124 Biblical Proofs 128 Response to Muslim Questions 131 ʿAmmār’s Understanding of the Nature of God 136 contents ix Part 2 The Role and Function of Christian Explanations of the Trinity in Arabic 5 The Tools of Christian Arabic Apologetic and Polemic 143 Analogy and Metaphor 143 Scriptural Proofs 154 Terminology 161 Rational and Logical Proofs 174 ‘The Unity of Species’ 174 ‘A Question for the Muslims’ 179 ‘The Headship of God’ 179 ‘Three is the Perfect Number’ 180 The “Attribute-Apology” 181 6 Christian Theologians Employing Muslim Theology 187 Priorities, Emphases and Engagement with Islamic Thought 187 Abū Qurra 187 Abū Rāʾiṭa 193 ʿAmmār al-Baṣrī 198 The Role of Christian Arabic Works 203 Audience and Purpose 203 The Place of Early Christian Theology in Arabic 205 Conclusion 212 Bibliography 217 Bible of Qur’an Citations 228 Index of People and Places 229 Subject Index 233 Acknowledgements I would like to begin by thanking my grandmother Leila al-Khalidi and my aunt Tima al-Husseini who, through hours of assisting me with painstaking translations, now know the lives and works of Abū Qurra, Abū Rāʾiṭa and ʿAmmār al-Baṣrī more than they would perhaps care to. Their help has been more valuable than I can express in a few short words. I would also like to reiterate my thanks to my mother and father, to whom I dedicate this work, and without whose emotional, practical and financial sup- port I simply would not have been able to undertake such a project. I am also grateful for the good humour and support of my siblings, Tariq, Serene, and Talal, and particu- larly our surrogate family member, Troy, who made it his vocation to point out the ‘odd’ act of procrastination during the writing of the PhD thesis, which forms the basis of this book. Further acknowledgment goes to some wonderful friends: Gemma Knowles, Vivienne Gorman, Emma Bostock and Lisa Jelly, whose sympathetic ears have been invaluable; Dr. Emily Schmidt for her wise words of encouragement during the thesis- writing stage; and the ladies and gentleman of Edgbaston Hockey Club for providing regular doses of much needed human contact and respite from the challenges of this undertaking. I would also like to take the opportunity here to express my gratitude to the AHRC, whose generous funding allowed me to spend three years studying a subject of my own choosing and passion. Finally, and most importantly, my heartfelt thanks go to my supervisor, Professor David Thomas, who has supported and encouraged me throughout this whole process, and who has put up with messy drafts, ridiculous questions and painfully slow Arabic translation attempts. His erudition and infectious enthusiasm for this subject are truly inspiring. I very much miss our supervision meetings. Introduction And they say: “None shall enter Paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian.” Those are their (vain) desires. Say: “Produce your proof if ye are truthful.” The Holy Qur’an, 2:111 This book examines the works of three of the earliest known Christian theo- logians to explain and defend their beliefs in Arabic. In particular, it deals with their writings on the doctrine of the Trinity, a doctrine that is central to the Christian faith and one that has proven to be a fundamental theological stumbling block throughout the history of Christian-Muslim interaction. The Christian authors in question lived at the heart of the Islamic empire in the early ninth century C.E. and, during that period, composed a number of writ- ings expounding their beliefs in a language which, following the Arab-Islamic conquests of the mid to late seventh century, was on the way to becoming the primary language of the newly established Islamic Empire. Coincidentally, the three authors who are most familiar to scholars of this period, and who will form the subject of this book, also happen to represent the three major Christian denominations of the time. Theodore Abū Qurra (d.c. 830), the subject of chapter two, was the Melkite Bishop of Ḥarrān at some point during his life. Abū Rāʾiṭa (d.c. 835), whose writings are investigated in the third chapter, was a Syrian Orthdodox (Jacobite) cleric from the modern day Iraqi town of Takrīt. The last of our scholars, ʿAmmār al-Baṣrī (d.c. 850), represented the East Syrian (Nestorian) Church, and is thought to have come from Basra, one of the major intellectual centres of the ʿAbbāsid empire at that time.
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