Muslim Scholarly Discussions on Salvation and the Fate of ‘Others’
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MUSLIM SCHOLARLY DISCUSSIONS ON SALVATION AND THE FATE OF ‘OTHERS’ by Mohammad Hassan Khalil A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Near Eastern Studies) in The University of Michigan 2007 Doctoral Committee: Professor Sherman A. Jackson, Chair Professor Michael D. Bonner Professor Juan R. Cole Professor Alexander D. Knysh © Mohammad Hassan Khalil All rights reserved 2007 To my family and my teachers ii Acknowledgements A dissertation is never the work of just one individual. I should first thank my dissertation committee, Professors Sherman Jackson, Michael Bonner, Juan Cole, and Alexander Knysh – a magnificent group of scholars, to say the least. I must give a very, very special thank you to Professor Jackson, my mentor and advisor. Words cannot begin to describe how much I have benefited from his wisdom, and no ‘thank you’ from me would ever truly suffice. (Even so, alf shukr yā ustādh!). I must also express my deep gratitude to Professor Bonner for taking me under his wing during my A.M. studies, enlightening me, and assisting me greatly in my transition into the graduate program. I am also quite indebted to Professor Raji Rammuny in particular for trusting in me, providing me with invaluable opportunities, and allowing me to see the light of day. In fact, I should thank the entire faculty of the University of Michigan Department of Near Eastern Studies for their unwavering support. I am also incredibly grateful for the support and assistance that the department staff has provided. In this regard, I should single out Margaret Casazza, Jessica Hale, and Angela Radjewski for being especially helpful. (I cannot imagine doing much without Margaret!). I have also been quite fortunate to have had a fantastic group of colleagues, and I am thankful for having studied with each and every one of them. I should also thank the supportive faculty and staff of both the iii Department of Religious Studies at Michigan State University and the Program for the Study of Religion at my future home, the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign). This work has benefited tremendously from the precious advice of numerous individuals. What follows is a listing of those individuals who have been especially helpful. I must thank Edward Renollet and Professor Omid Safi for helping me to realize that the issue of salvation and the fate of ‘Others’ makes for a much more interesting dissertation topic than any other I had previously considered. I should also thank the following individuals for pointing me to resources that have proven quite helpful: Ovamir Anjum, Lejla Demiri, Ozgen Felek, Rob Haug, Professor Jon Hoover, David Hughes, Suheil Laher, Youshaa Patel, Kristina Pietrosanti, Yasir Qadhi, Mohammed Rustom, Dr. Ahmed Kamal Sultan Salem, and Abdul-Aleem Somers. I should also thank Rustom for taking the time to review early manuscripts of certain chapters. And I must thank Mucahit Bilici, Dr. Hasan Shanawani, and Khuram Siddiqui for their incredible assistance throughout this whole process. Finally, I must express my heartfelt gratitude to my ever-supportive and ever- loving family, my parents Amina Hedayat Khalil and Professor Hassan Khalil, my siblings Omar and Yousuf, and my extended family. I must also thank my ‘better half,’ my wife Suzanne Fadly, as well as her incredible family. Suzanne, thank you for your unwavering love and confidence in me. iv Table of Contents Dedication………………………………………………………………………………ii Acknowledgements.………………………………………………………………...….iii Chapter 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………1 1. General Introduction…………………………………………………1 2. A Brief History of Salvation and the Afterlife: From Origins to Islam………………………………………………..2 3. Present State of Research……………………………………………18 4. Objectives and Method of Research…………………………………26 2. Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī…………….………………………………………..34 1. The Life and Times of Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī…………………….…34 2. Analyzing Relevant Aspects of al-Ghazālī’s Writings……………….35 3. Excursus: Beyond al-Ghazālī: Shāh Walī Allāh as an Example of Convergent Evolution?………………………………….71 4. Conclusion……………………………………………………………76 3. Ibn al-‘Arabī…………………………………………………….………..…78 1. The Life and Times of Ibn al-‘Arabī………………………………….78 2. Relevant Aspects of Ibn al-‘Arabī’s Writings……………………...…81 3. Conclusion…………………………………………………………...103 4. Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah………………….…………105 1. The Life and Times of Ibn Taymiyyah……………………………….105 2. Analyzing Relevant Aspects of Ibn Taymiyyah’s Writings…………..108 3. A Rejoinder to Ibn Taymiyyah’s Argument for a Non-Eternal Hell by One of his Contemporaries: The Case of Taqī al-Dīn al-Subkī…………………………………….132 4. The Life and Times of Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah…………………….140 5. Analyzing Relevant Aspects of Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah’s Writings………………………………..142 6. Between Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah……………..163 7. Excursus: Building on the Writings of Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah: The Case of Maulana Muhammad ‘Ali.…………………………………………………….166 8. Conclusion…………………………………………………………...179 5. Muhammad Rashīd Ridā………………………………………….………..181 1. The Life and Times of Muhammad Rashīd Ridā…………………….181 2. Analyzing Relevant Aspects of Rida’s Writings……………………..185 v 3. Excursus: Beyond Rida: Sayyid Qutb as an Example of Divergent Evolution?……………………………………………..210 4. Conclusion…………………………………………………………...219 6. Conclusion………………………………………………………….………221 Bibliography……………..…………………………………………………….……….227 vi Chapter 1 Introduction 1. General Introduction “What does Islam say about the fate of ‘Others,’ or those who do not believe in the Islamic declaration of faith: There is no god but God; Muhammad is His Messenger?” This is an oft-asked question that has frequently evoked one-dimensional responses. It is not uncommon to encounter works that present the matter in black and white, the typical response being, according to Islam, non-Muslims are to suffer eternal damnation.1 On the other hand, another response, which is less frequent but growing in popularity, is that Islam in its true form advocates soteriological religious pluralism, that is, pluralism in which Islam is only one among a number of religions that, by their very essence, lead to salvation.2 In this context, what is one to do when asked to describe ‘Islam’s position’? Further complicating matters is the fact that there is a lacuna in the field of Islamic 1 As a basic example, in The Doctrine of Islam and Christian Belief, Johannes Stöckle writes, “The impure who are not purified by Islam shall be in hell-fire…Hell will be punishment without end.” See Johannes Stöckle, The Doctrine of Islam and Christian Belief: Common Ground and Differences (Disputationes religionum orbis Series O: Orient et Occident Vol. 2) (Bonn: Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft, 1997), 48-9. 2 This view is common among perennialists, such as those belonging to the Sophia Perennis school of thought. As an example, see Frithjof Schuon, Islam and the Perennial Philosophy, trans. J. Peter Hobson, preface by Seyyed Hossein Nasr ([London]: World of Islam Festival Publishing Company, 1976). 1 studies when it comes to Islamic soteriology. And yet soteriology (from the Greek sōtērion [deliverance, salvation] and logos [discourse, reasoning], denoting theological discussions and doctrines on salvation) has always been a topic Muslim scholars have taken seriously. And rightfully so: salvation is arguably the major theme of the Qur’an. In point of fact, this is no simple issue. Despite the general agreement among Muslim scholars that some will enjoy a life in Heaven while others will suffer in Hell, there has been a significant amount of discussion and debate among them with regard to who exactly will be included in each group, as well as the duration and nature of both reward and punishment. In the present study, I isolate a few case studies of some of the most prominent medieval and modern Muslim scholars, and examine their writings on this ever- controversial issue, demonstrating, inter alia, just how multifarious these discussions can be. The five scholars I have selected for my analysis are Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111), Muhyī al-Dīn Ibn al-‘Arabī (d. 638/1240), Taqiyaddīn Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728/1328), Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (d. 751/1350), and Muhammad Rashīd Ridā (d. 1935) – well-known scholars whose names and legacies are familiar to any student of Islamic studies and who continue to be quite influential within their respective schools of thought. Before proceeding, however, it is important that we first examine the major themes that serve as a backdrop to this study, namely, the issue of salvation and the notion of Heaven and Hell. 2. A Brief History of Salvation and the Afterlife: From Origins to Islam 2 Sigmund Freud once described religious doctrines and beliefs of an afterlife as ‘illusions.’3 As Daniel L. Pals explains, unlike a “delusion, which is something [we] may want to be true but which everyone else knows is not, and perhaps never could be so,” an ‘illusion’ for Freud is simply “a belief whose main characteristic is that we very much want it to be true.”4 As such, Freud describes such religious teachings as being the “fulfillments of the oldest, strongest and most urgent wishes of mankind. The secret of their strength lies in the strength of those wishes.”5 Accordingly, it should come as no surprise that the conception of an afterlife is an ancient one. The pyramids of Giza are a living testament to this fact. Even so, it is a notion that has evolved throughout the ages, often