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Ibn Taymia's Response to Christianity

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Ibn Taymia's Response to Christianity A Critical Study Of Ibn Taymia’s Response to Christianity THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ISLAMIC STUDIES By FADHL MOHAMMED MOHAMMED FUSHOOSH Under the Supervision Of Prof. OBAIDULLAH FAHAD DEPARTMENT OF ISLAMIC STUDES ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) 2016 Dedication With immense love and reverence I dedicate this work To My parents Who painstakingly bore my separation, To My children who longingly awaited my return To My wife who patiently exerted to carry out the responsibilities of parenting our children Acknowledgements Ultimate praise and thanks are due to Allah who helps all those who seriously seek His help through extending all means to reach their goals; He is the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. I am immensely grateful to the chairperson of the Department of Islamic Studies, Prof. Sayyid Ahsan, who treated me with immense kindness and amiability and provided all necessary administrative help throughout my tenure. Thanks should next be extended to my supervisor, Professor Obaidullah Fahad for his indispensible and impeccable guidance throughout all stages of writing the thesis. He spared no effort to provide his enlightening recommendations that contributed to the quality as well as precision of this presentation. Thanks are also due to all staff members in the administration of the department for their bureaucratic facilities. Thanks should also be extended to the library staff members for their guidance in locating the appropriate references in the seminar library of the department. I should not forget to thank my parents, wife and my three children (Shadin, Haneef and Jana) in Yemen for bearing with me and waiting for me patiently despite all the political problems that were rife during our separation. I am pleased to thank everyone who helped in any way in the work at any level or stage, especially Mr. Tahbrez Sormaly (Mauritian) for checking my transliteration, and my colleagues from Kashmir Mr. M. Dawood, for his formatting remarks, Mr. Yaseen, Mr. Iqbal, Mr. Showkat, Mr. Zubair, Mr. Mudassir and Mr. Irfan for their imformation about the various procedures of the university. I am also indebted to my Yemeni friends for their valuable academic help and moral support, especially Dr. Muhammad Jubaily whose role was truly instrumental in whatever academic advancement I have made so far. Fadhl TABLE OF CONTENTS Transliteration Table .................................................................................................. VII Introduction .................................................................................................................... 3 1. THE AGE OF IBN TAYMIYYAH ......................................................................... 11 1.1 The Political Situation ................................................................................... 11 1.1.1 The Origin of the Mamlūks .................................................................... 12 1.1.2 Rise of the Mamlūks .............................................................................. 12 1.1.3 Al-Manṣūrah Battle and the Mamlūks ................................................... 14 1.1.4 The Mongol Threat ................................................................................ 15 1.1.5 ‘Ayn Jālūt the Decisive Battle ............................................................... 17 1.1.6 The Preparation against the Crusade Emirates ...................................... 17 1.1.7 Precautionary Measures against Contingent Mongol Attacks ............... 18 1.1.8 The Mamlūk-Crusader Encounter .......................................................... 21 1.2 The Socio-Religious Situation ...................................................................... 21 1.2.1 Position of the Mamlūks ........................................................................ 22 1.2.2 The Feudal System ................................................................................. 24 1.2.3 The Sultans ............................................................................................. 24 1.2.4 The Sultanic Mamlūks ........................................................................... 25 1.2.5 Awlādunnās ............................................................................................ 25 I 1.2.6 The Bureaucratic Class .......................................................................... 27 1.2.7 The Subjects ........................................................................................... 28 1.2.8 The Sufis ................................................................................................ 28 1.2.9 Religiously Unacceptable Practices ....................................................... 30 1.2.10 Markets .................................................................................................. 33 1.2.11 The Minorities ........................................................................................ 35 1.3 The Intellectual Situation .............................................................................. 38 1.3.1 The Islamic Schools ............................................................................... 40 1.3.2 The Populist Religious Thought ............................................................ 42 2 . EDUCATION, LIFE AND BOOKS OF IBN TAYMIYYAH ........................... 51 2.1 BIRTH ........................................................................................................... 52 2.2 Education and Academic Qualities ............................................................... 52 2.3 Areas of Interest ............................................................................................ 56 2.4 Physical and Moral Features ......................................................................... 58 2.4.1 Sincerity ................................................................................................. 58 2.4.2 Austerity ................................................................................................. 59 2.4.3 Courage and Generosity ......................................................................... 60 2.4.4 Magnanimity .......................................................................................... 61 2.4.5 Mercifulness ........................................................................................... 63 2.5 Debates .......................................................................................................... 64 2.5.1 The Theological Development across History ....................................... 65 II 2.5.2 Themes of Debate .................................................................................. 68 2.6 Trials and Tribulations .................................................................................. 75 2.6.1 The Epistle to Hamah ............................................................................. 75 2.6.2 Encounter with Aḥmadiyyah .................................................................. 76 2.6.3 Al-Aqīdah Al-Wāsiṭiyyah ...................................................................... 76 2.6.4 The Anthropomorphism Charge ............................................................ 77 2.6.5 The Issue of Istighāthah ......................................................................... 77 2.6.6 The Issue of Divorce .............................................................................. 79 2.6.7 Visiting the Graves ................................................................................ 80 2.7 Death ............................................................................................................. 81 2.8 Books ............................................................................................................. 82 3 CHRIST IN THE WRITINGS OF IBN TAYMIYYAH .................................... 101 3.1 λόγος (Logos) .............................................................................................. 101 3.2 The Trinity ................................................................................................... 104 3.2.1 Definition and Difference .................................................................... 104 3.2.2 Meaning of the Hypostases .................................................................. 105 3.2.3 The Biblical Evidences ........................................................................ 107 3.2.4 Trinity: A Concoction .......................................................................... 110 3.3 The Principle of Incarnation ........................................................................ 113 3.4 Christian Rationalization of the Mixing ...................................................... 114 3.5 The Christian Illustration ............................................................................ 115 III 3.6 Transfiguration: A Corollary ....................................................................... 121 3.7 Incarnation: An Insult to God ...................................................................... 122 3.8 Essence vs. Accident ................................................................................... 124 3.9 Misinterpretation of the Scriptures .............................................................. 126 3.10 Anthropomorphic Texts .............................................................................. 128 3.11 The Ascension and God’s Indivisibility ...................................................... 129 3.12 The Christian Convert
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