DOCSLIB.ORG

Downloaded from Brill.Com09/25/2021 04:49:01PM Via Free Access 348 Glossary of Proper Names

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Downloaded from Brill.Com09/25/2021 04:49:01PM Via Free Access 348 Glossary of Proper Names Glossary of Proper Names A ʿAbdAllāh b.ʿUmar (d. 73/693): Companion of the Prophet and son of the Caliph ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb. Was active in narrating traditions from the Prophet and gained a rep- utation for his precision in recalling events that took place during the Prophet’s life. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, Abū Bakr (d. 363/974): Ḥanbalī muḥaddith and jurist who transmitted the Kitāb al-Amr of Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal. ʿAbd b. Ḥumayd (Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd b. Ḥumayd) (d. 249/863): Early muḥaddith who compiled his own musnad work. Prominent ḥadīth scholars nar- rated from him, including al-Bukhārī, al-Tirmidhī, and Muslim. ʿAbd al-Jabbār, al-Qāḍī Abū al-Ḥasan (d. 415/1025): Major Muʿtazilī theologian, a Shāfiʿī, who presented a systematic discussion of Muʿtazilī doctrine in his ten- volume work al-Mughnī fī abwāb al-tawḥīd wa-l-ʿadl. ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī (d. 561/1166): Well-known Sufi and Ḥanbalī scholar in Baghdad who, after his death, became the eponym of the Qādiriyya Sufi order. Was greatly respected by Ibn Taymiyya, who wrote a commentary on ʿAbd al-Qādir’s mystical treatise Futūḥ al-ghayb. al-Abharī, Athīr al-Dīn (d. 663/1264 or 1265): Influential philosopher, astronomer, as- trologer, and mathematician. His philosophical tracts Īsāghūjī and Hidāyatal-ḥikma are commonly taught in seminaries and other scholastic settings around the world. Abū Ḥanīfa, al-Nuʿmān b. Thābit (d. 150/767): Founder and eponym of the Ḥanafī school of law. Studied with many noteworthy jurists and theologians, particularly the Kufan legal scholar Ḥammād b. Sulaymān. Some report that he met the Prophet’s Companion Anas b. Mālik and therefore counts as a Successor (tābiʿī). Abū al-Hudhayl al-ʿAllāf (d. between 226/840 and 235/850): Early theologian, often considered the first systematic Muʿtazilī thinker. Introduced the theory of atomism into theology, but all of his writings have been lost. Abū Muʿādh al-Tūmanī (death date unknown): A leader of the Murjiʾa and head of the Tūmaniyya sub-faction of them. Held that faith (īmān) does not shield one against disbelief (kufr). Defined faith as consisting of certain traits (khiṣāl); abandoning one or more of these traits entails disbelief. Al-Ashʿarī reports that he followed Zuhayr al-Atharī in many of the latter’s opinions. Abū Ṭālib al-Makkī (d. 386/996): Sufi ascetic and preacher famous for his Qūt al-qulūb, a 48-chapter treatise on Sufi piety and practice that is styled after a manual of jurisprudence. Abū ʿUbayda, Maʿmar b. al-Muthannā (d. ca. 210/825): Arabic philologist and exegete from Basra of non-Arab, Jewish origin. Was accused of being a shuʿūbī (opponent of Arab cultural and political supremacy) and a Khārijī. Carl Sharif El-Tobgui - 9789004412866 Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 04:49:01PM via free access 348 glossary of proper names Abū Yaʿlā b. al-Farrāʾ (al-Qāḍī Abū Yaʿlā) (d. 458/1066): Prominent Ḥanbalī jurist and theologian, referred to by fellow Ḥanbalīs for centuries simply as “al-qāḍī.” Author of many works, the most famous of which is his Kitāb al-Muʿtamad, one of the first major Ḥanbalī works of theology written on the model of a formal kalām treatise. Abū Zahra, Muḥammad (d. 1394/1974): Prominent twentieth-century Azharī legal scholar. Wrote over thirty books and one hundred articles on Islamic law, Qurʾān commentary, ḥadīth, theology, and other topics. ʿĀʾisha bt. Abī Bakr (d. 58/678): The Prophet’s third wife. Over one thousand prophetic ḥadīth are said to have been related on her authority, around three hundred of which are recorded in the Ṣaḥīḥ collections of al-Bukhārī and Muslim. Alexander of Aphrodisias (fl. ca. 200CE): Peripatetic philosopher and commentator on Aristotle. Known in the Arabic biographical tradition as al-Iskandar al-Afrūdīsī al-Dimashqī. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (d. 40/661): Last of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs. Cousin and son-in- law of the Prophet Muḥammad and an important figure for both Sunnīs and Shīʿīs. His reign as caliph was rife with conflict. Assassinated by an agent of the Khawārij. al-Āmidī, Sayf al-Dīn (d. 631/1233): Major later Ashʿarī theologian and legal scholar. Criticized by IbnTaymiyya for suspending judgement (waqf ) on a number of central theological and legal issues. al-Āmulī, Karīm al-Dīn (d. 710/1310 or 1311): Prominent Egyptian Sufi who, along with Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh al-Iskandarī, opposed Ibn Taymiyya for his denunciation of various beliefs and practices that he considered reprehensible innovation (bidʿa). al-Anṣārī, Abū al-Qāsim (d. 512/1118): Shāfiʿī mutakallim and Sufi who studied under al-Juwaynī and wrote a commentary of the latter’s Irshād. Was noted for his intelli- gence and for his writings on asceticism, worship, and kalām. al-Aṣbahānī, Dāwūd (see al-Ẓāhirī, Dāwūd b. Khalaf) al-Aṣbahānī, Jaʿfar b. Ḥayyān (“Abū al-Shaykh”) (d. 369/979): Muḥaddith from Isfahan. Teacher of the prominent ḥadīth scholars Ibn Mandah and Ibn Mardawayhi. al-Aṣfahānī (occasionally al-Aṣbahānī),1 Shams al-Dīn Maḥmūd (d. 749/1349): Persian theologian and scholar. Raised in Isfahan but spent most of his life in Syria, then Egypt. Was known for his exegetical writings as well as his works in the rational sciences. Ibn Taymiyya met him while in Damascus and was impressed by his eru- dition. al-Ashʿarī, Abū al-Ḥasan (d. 324/935 or 936): Founder of the Ashʿarī school of the- ology. Studied under the head of the Muʿtazila in Basra, Abū ʿAlī al-Jubbāʾī, but publicly renounced his Muʿtazilī affiliations at the age of forty. Subsequently dedi- 1 The Arabic nisba adjective derived from the Iranian city of Isfahan appears variously as al-Aṣbahānī, al-Aṣfahānī, and al-Iṣfahānī. I have cited each figure’s name according to the spelling most commonly found in the biographical dictionaries and/or on the title pages of the figure’s published works. Carl Sharif El-Tobgui - 9789004412866 Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 04:49:01PM via free access glossary of proper names 349 cated himself to a systematic defense of traditional doctrine using the methods of the mutakallimūn. al-Ashʿarī, Abū Mūsā (d. ca. 42/662): Companion of the Prophet and ancestor of the famous theologian Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī. ʿAssāf al-Naṣrānī (“the Christian”) (death date unknown): Christian from Suwaydāʾ, in southwestern Syria, alleged to have publicly insulted the Prophet Muḥammad in 693/1294. This incident marked Ibn Taymiyya’s first incursion into political life. Averroes (see Ibn Rushd) Avicenna (see Ibn Sīnā) B al-Baghdādī, ʿAbd al-Qāhir (d. 429/1037 or 1038): Ashʿarī theologian who taught and lived in Nishapur and Khurasan. His Kitāb Uṣūl al-dīn is a systematic treatise that covers the views of various Muslim sects on central topics of theology. al-Baghdādī, Abū al-Barakāt b. Malkā(n) (d. 560/1164 or 1165): Jewish convert to Islam and philosopher. Parts of his most famous work, Kitāb al-Muʿtabar, were derived from Ibn Sīnā’s Shifāʾ, though he was also critical of this latter. Composed a number of novel works in both philosophy and medicine. al-Bāhilī, Abū al-Ḥasan (d. ca. 370/980): Ashʿarī theologian from Basra and one of the direct pupils of Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī. Baqī b. Makhlad (d. 276/889): Cordovan muḥaddith who helped introduce ḥadīth stud- ies in Andalusia. Traveled to Baghdad and other cities in Iraq where he came into contact with prominent ḥadīth scholars, including Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal. Wrote a tafsīr of the Qurʾān. al-Bāqillānī, al-Qāḍī Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. al-Ṭayyib (d. 403/1013): Prominent Ashʿarī theologian and Mālikī legal scholar. Played a pivotal role in consolidating and systematizing early Ashʿarī kalām. Ibn Taymiyya considers him the best of the Ashʿarī mutakallimūn. al-Barbahārī, al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī (d. 329/941): Prominent Ḥanbalī scholar who was the dis- ciple of Sahl al-Tustarī. Famous mainly for his connection with rioting in Baghdad in defense of Ḥanbalī doctrine in the 320s/930s. al-Baṣrī, Abū al-Ḥusayn (d. 436/1044): Muʿtazilī theologian and legal scholar who was often accused of being influenced by the philosophers for his criticism of the Bahshamiyya Muʿtazila. His teachings influenced the famous Ashʿarī master al- Juwaynī. al-Baṣrī, Abū Muḥammad b. ʿAbdik (d. 347/958 or 959): Important Ḥanafī scholar who wrote Sharḥ al-Jāmiʿayn, among other works, and who taught and transmitted the Ḥanafī madhhab. al-Baṣrī, al-Ḥasan (d. 110/728): Exegete and pietist belonging to the generation of the Successors (tābiʿūn). Known for his knowledge of asbāb al-nuzūl (the “occasions of revelation”) and universally revered by later schools of law, theology, and Sufism. Carl Sharif El-Tobgui - 9789004412866 Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 04:49:01PM via free access 350 glossary of proper names Baybars (see al-Jāshnikīr, Rukn al-Dīn Baybars) al-Bayḍāwī, Nāṣir al-Dīn ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿUmar (d. 685/1286 or 691/1292): Shāfiʿī jurist, Ashʿarī theologian, and Qurʾān commentator best known for his tafsīr work, Anwār al-tanzīl wa-asrār al-taʾwīl. al-Bayhaqī, Abū Bakr Aḥmad (d. 458/1066): Ashʿarī theologian and Shāfiʿī jurist who provided a foundation for the doctrines of the Shāfiʿī school of law using ḥadīth. Burghūth, Muḥammad b. ʿĪsā (d. 240/854 or 241/855): “Jahmī” theologian and inter- locutor of Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal during the miḥna (inquisition). al-Buwayṭī, Abū Yaʿqūb b. Yaḥyā (d. 231/846): Prominent legal scholar and top student and companion of al-Shāfiʿī, reputed for his great learning and piety. Listed by al- Baghdādī (in Kitāb Uṣūl al-dīn) as one of the “mutakallimūn among the jurists and authorities of the legal schools.” D al-Dārimī, Abū Saʿīd ʿUthmān b.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Abū Hāshim Al-Jubbāʾī's (D. 321/933) Theory of 'States' ( Aḥwāl
    Abū Hāshim al-Jubbāʾī’s (d. 321/933) Theory of ‘States’ (aḥwāl) and its Adaption by Ashʿarite Theologians Jan Thiele* Abstract This chapter discusses the notion of ‘states’ (aḥwāl) in Muʿtazilite and Ashʿarite theology. The concept was borrowed from linguistics by the Muʿtazilite theolo- gian Abū Hāshim al-Jubbāʾī (d. 321/933). It helped him to explain the nature of God’s attributes without asserting the existence of co-eternal beings in God. The conception of attributes as ‘states’ became a central doctrine among Abū Hāshim’s followers, the so-called Bahshamiyya school. The theory of aḥwāl was first rejected by Ashʿarite theologians. With Abū Bakr al-Bāqillānī (d. 403/1013), however, an important representative of the school eventually came to use the term within the framework of his theory of attributes. Later, Abū l-Maʿālī al- Juwaynī (d. 478/1085–6) also followed al-Bāqillānī in adopting the notion of ḥāl. Keywords ḥāl, attributes, Muʿtazila, Ashʿariyya, Abū Hāshim al-Jubbāʾī, Bahshamiyya, al- Bāqillānī, al-Juwaynī The notion of ‘states’ (aḥwāl, sing. ḥāl) was introduced into Muʿtazilite theology by Abū Hāshim al-Jubbāʾī. By adopting this concept, he intended to solve a fun- damental problem that had challenged theologians for several generations. The principal question which Muslim theologians posed was: How can we conceive of God as one and, at the same time, describe Him by a multitude of qualities? With the concept of ḥāl, Abū Hāshim provided a category alongside the nature of mere things or entities (ashyāʾ, sing. shayʾ ). Because only things were believed to be ei- ther existent or non-existent, Abū Hāshim’s definition of God’s multiple qualities as ‘states’ helped him to avoid asserting the existence of other beings within God.
    [Show full text]
  • Qurʾānic Hermeneutics with Reference to Narratives: a Study in Classical Exegetical Traditions
    Qurʾānic Hermeneutics with Reference to Narratives: A Study in Classical Exegetical Traditions Submitted by Khaled Troudi, to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Arab and Islamic Studies, July 2011 This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this dissertation which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by or any other University. (Signature)…………………………………………………………………….. i ACKNOWLEDGMENT First, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the members and staff of the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter for their encouragement and guidance. I would also like to express my gratitude to all my advisors for their teaching and patience, and in particular, to Dr. Jamal Barzinji from the International Institute of Islamic Thought who shared my curiosity about religion and helped me in some of the most provoking discussions and discourses. My sincere thanks are also extended to the members of my PhD Thesis Committee Professor ―Abd al-Ḥalīm from SOAS and Professor Robert Gleave from the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter for their guidance and patience. Special thanks to my advisor, teacher and friend, Dr. Sajjad Rizvi to whom I am eternally grateful, as words cannot express my heartfelt gratitude. Dr. Rizvi taught me how to understand serious scholarship and the amount of work that is required for such an endeavor.
    [Show full text]
  • Bektashi Order - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia Personal Tools Create Account Log In
    Bektashi Order - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Personal tools Create account Log in Namespaces Views Article Read Bektashi OrderTalk Edit From Wikipedia, the freeVariants encyclopedia View history Main page More TheContents Bektashi Order (Turkish: Bektaşi Tarikatı), or the ideology of Bektashism (Turkish: Bektaşilik), is a dervish order (tariqat) named after the 13th century Persian[1][2][3][4] Order of Bektashi dervishes AleviFeatured Wali content (saint) Haji Bektash Veli, but founded by Balim Sultan.[5] The order is mainly found throughout Anatolia and the Balkans, and was particularly strong in Albania, Search BulgariaCurrent events, and among Ottoman-era Greek Muslims from the regions of Epirus, Crete and Greek Macedonia. However, the Bektashi order does not seem to have attracted quite as BektaşiSearch Tarikatı manyRandom adherents article from among Bosnian Muslims, who tended to favor more mainstream Sunni orders such as the Naqshbandiyya and Qadiriyya. InDonate addition to Wikipedia to the spiritual teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, the Bektashi order was later significantly influenced during its formative period by the Hurufis (in the early 15th century),Wikipedia storethe Qalandariyya stream of Sufism, and to varying degrees the Shia beliefs circulating in Anatolia during the 14th to 16th centuries. The mystical practices and rituals of theInteraction Bektashi order were systematized and structured by Balım Sultan in the 16th century after which many of the order's distinct practices and beliefs took shape. A largeHelp number of academics consider Bektashism to have fused a number of Shia and Sufi concepts, although the order contains rituals and doctrines that are distinct unto itself.About Throughout Wikipedia its history Bektashis have always had wide appeal and influence among both the Ottoman intellectual elite as well as the peasantry.
    [Show full text]
  • Complete Document
    https://doi.org/10.5771/9783956506895, am 28.09.2021, 11:18:41 Open Access - http://www.nomos-elibrary.de/agb https://doi.org/10.5771/9783956506895, am 28.09.2021, 11:18:41 Open Access - http://www.nomos-elibrary.de/agb A Common Rationality: Mutazilism in Islam and Judaism https://doi.org/10.5771/9783956506895, am 28.09.2021, 11:18:41 Open Access - http://www.nomos-elibrary.de/agb ISTANBULER TEXTE UND STUDIEN HERAUSGEGEBEN VOM ORIENT-INSTITUT ISTANBUL BAND 15 https://doi.org/10.5771/9783956506895, am 28.09.2021, 11:18:41 Open Access - http://www.nomos-elibrary.de/agb A Common Rationality: Mutazilism in Islam and Judaism edited by Camilla Adang Sabine Schmidtke David Sklare WÜRZBURG 2016 ERGON VERLAG WÜRZBURG IN KOMMISSION https://doi.org/10.5771/9783956506895, am 28.09.2021, 11:18:41 Open Access - http://www.nomos-elibrary.de/agb Umschlaggestaltung: Taline Yozgatian Umschlagbild: Beginn des zweiten Teils der Responsa des Sahl b. al-Fal al-Tustar an Al" b. Sulaymn al-Maqdis (Handschrift Russian National Library II Firk. Arab. 119, ff. 2b-3a, mit freundlicher Genehmigung) Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.d-nb.de abrufbar. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de. ISBN 978-3-95650-188-3 ISSN 1863-9461 © 2016 Orient-Institut Istanbul (Max Weber Stiftung) Das Werk einschließlich aller seiner Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt.
    [Show full text]
  • 2. Islamic History, Religion & Culture
    861-875 H. al-qism 7. min al-juz' 2. 876-890 H. al- qism 8. min al-juz' 2. 891-896 H., ma'a al-fahâris al- qism 9. min al-juz' 2. Fahâris al-a'lâm. Egypt -- Syria -- History -- 1250-1517 2. ISLAMIC HISTORY, RELIGION 137 'Abd al-Ghaffâr, Muhammad (ed.) & CULTURE Al -Majâlis al -Mu'ayyadîyah. 338p Cairo 1994 1,800 138 イスラムの歴史・思想・文化 'Abd al-Hamîd al-Shirqânî & Ahmad ibn Qâsim al- 'Abbâdî Hawâshî al -Shirqânî wa Ibn Qâsim al -'Abbâdî 'alâ Tuhfat al -Muhtâj bi Sharh al -Minhaj. 10 vols. Beirut 2009 repr. 35,400 132 :Islamic law -- Shafiites -- Early works to 1800 Aasi, Ghulam Haider 139 Muslim Understanding of Other Religions: a study 'Abd al-Hayy ibn 'Abd al-Halîm al-Laknawî (m. 1304 of Ibn Hazm's Kitab al -fasl fi al -milal wa al -ahwa' wa h.) al -nihal . xviii,231p New Delhi 2004 81-7435-359-3 'Umdat al -Ri'âyah 'alâ Sharh al -Wiqâyah. 7 vols. ¥1,000 Beirut 2009 978-2-7451-6263-2 20,800 133 :Islamic law -- Hanafites -- Early works to 1800 Abadi, Jacob 140 Tunisia since the Arab Conquest: the saga of a 'Abd al-'Îsâwî, Salâh Hamîd westernized Muslim state . xiv,586p London 2013 Ta'sîl al -Qawâ'id al -Usûlîyah al -mukhtalaf fî -hâ 978-0-86372-435-0 12,743 bayna al -Hanafîyah wa al -Shâfi'îyah . 607p Beirut 2012 :This comprehensive history of Tunisia covers an 978-9933-482-05-3 3,600 essential period in the country's development, from :Islamic law -- Interpretation and construction the Arab conquest of the 7th century to the Jasnime 141 revolution and the fall of Ben Ali's regime.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    OUP UNCORRECTED PROOF – REVISES, Thu Mar 10 2016, NEWGEN Introduction Sabine Schmidtke The present volume provides a comprehensive overview of theological thought within Islam, from the earliest manifestations that have come down to us up until the present.1 Given the numerous desiderata in the study of Islamic theology, the overall picture that evolves is inevitably incomplete, and in many ways the volume is intended to serve as an encouragement and a guide for scholars who wish to engage with this field of study. The approach in the preparation of this volume has been an inclusive one—rather than defining ‘theology’ in a narrow way or preferring one interpretation of what ‘orthodox’ belief consists of over another, an attempt has been made to cover the doctrinal thought of all the various intellectual strands of Islam that were engaged with theological con- cerns— including groups such as the philosophers and Ismāʿīlīs, whom theologians of different shades condemned as heretics. Moreover, this volume also acknowledges the significance of inter- communal exchanges between Muslim and Christian as well as Jewish thinkers over the course of the centuries. The theological thought of Jews and Christians not only mirrored at times that of Muslims, Christian methodologies of speculative reasoning and, at times, doctrinal notions contributed to its shaping. While the Jewish reception of kalām methods and the doctrines of the Muʿtazilite school in particular are touched upon in Chapter 9, the interplay between Muslim and Christian doctrinal thought at various points in time is discussed in detail in Chapters 1, 5, and 31. The overall arrangement of the chapters is primarily diachronic.
    [Show full text]
  • Zaydī Theology in Yemen
    Zaydī Theology in Yemen Hassan Ansari, Sabine Schmidtke, and Jan Thiele Abstract This chapter reviews Zaydī theology in Yemen, from the period before and after the unification of the Yemeni and the Caspian imamates to theologians from the ninth/fifteenth century. It traces the foundation of the Zaydī imamate in the northern highlands of Yemen by Imam al-Hādī ilā l-Ḥaqq, and how the Yemeni Zaydīs developed a canon of doctrinal writings of the Imams which remained authoritative over the coming centuries. It considers the role played by Jaʿfar b. Aḥmad b. ʿAbd al-Salām al-Buhlūlī in the intellectual development of Yemen’s theological landscape, as well as the legacy of al-Ḥasan b. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Raṣṣāṣ with respect to Bahshamite theology in the country. It also examines the continuity of Bahshamite theology from the seventh/thirteenth century and concludes with a discussion of the emergence of growing opposition among the Zaydīs of Yemen against Muʿtazilism in general and the theological views of the Bahshamiyya in particular. Keywords Zaydī theology, Yemen, Jaʿfar b. Aḥmad b. ʿAbd al-Salām al-Buhlūlī, al-Ḥasan b. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Raṣṣāṣ, Bahshamite theology, Muʿtazilism, Imam al-Manṣūr bi-llāh, Abū l-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī, ʿAbd Allāh b. Zayd al-ʿAnsī For most of its history, Zaydī theology was heavily influenced by Muʿtazilite doc- trines.1 Yemen is the only region with a significant Zaydī community until the present day. It is therefore in the country’s historical libraries that thousands of Muʿtazilite manuscripts have survived. These collections include both texts that were lost in ma- joritarian Sunni lands as well as many other theological works written by members of the Zaydī community themselves.
    [Show full text]
  • The People of Monotheism and Justice: Muʿtazilism in Islam And
    The People of Monotheism and Justice: Muʿtazilism in Islam and Judaism1 Why did Jewish thinkers in the tenth century start to adopt rationalist doctrines? BY SABINE SCHMIDTKE denial of polytheism as expressed in the Islamic profession of faith. Among rational theologians, the mutakallimūn, it was primarily the question onotheism constitutes one of the central doctrines of Islam. The notion of the divine attributes and their ontological status and the manner in which Mis again and again voiced in the Qur’ān, for example in sūra 112 (entitled they relate to the divine essence that was at stake. The Qur’ān asserts God’s “Sincere Religion”) which, in the translation of Arthur Arberry, reads “Say: ‘He omnipotence (“Indeed, God is over all things competent—innā Llāh ‘alā kull is God, One (aḥadun). God, the Everlasting Refuge, who has not begotten, and shay’ qadīr,” as is stated in Q 2:20 and elsewhere) as well as His omniscience has not been begotten, and equal to Him is not any one.” While initially it was (“God is ever Knowing and Wise—wa-kāna Llāh ‘alīman ḥakīman,” Q 4:17 and apparently mostly a refutation of pre-Islamic polytheism in Arabia, the text was elsewhere), as well as other attributes, and it states that God has “power” (qudra) later on interpreted as primarily directed against the Christians. and “knowledge” (‘ilm), etc. This gave rise to the controversial discussion of The (post-Qur’ānic) Arabic term for monotheism is tawḥīd. The frequent use whether “power,” “knowledge,” etc., constitute eternal attributes that are of the root w-ḥ-d in the self-appellation of numerous Islamic groups through- distinct from God’s essence or not.
    [Show full text]
  • The Jewish and Muslim Reception of ʿabd Al-Jabbār’S Kitāb Al- Jumal Wa-L-ʿuqūd: a Survey of Relevant Sources*
    The Jewish and Muslim reception of ʿAbd al-Jabbār’s Kitāb al- Jumal wa-l-ʿuqūd: A survey of relevant sources* Jan Thiele School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London [email protected] Abstract The Muʿtazila was not an exclusively Muslim phenomenon, since their teachings were also adopted by medieval Jewish savants. In recent years, a number of Muʿtazilī works were rediscovered or substantially completed by adopting a comparative methodology, which was based on both Muslim and Jewish sources. This article deals with a lost work composed by qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār, entitled al-Jumal wa-l-ʿuqūd. In the following, I will give an overview of the sources in Zaydī and Karaite collections that provide us with a more detailed picture of the dissemination of the text. On the basis of quotations by later theologians, I will propose a hypothesis on the content of al-Jumal wa-l-ʿuqūd. I will then discuss a possible relationship between ʿAbd al-Jabbār’s text and a manuscript from the Firkovitch collection in the Russian National Library, which has recently been identi$%ed as a work entitled Taʿlīq al-Jumal wa-l-ʿuqūd. Keywords Muʿtazila, ʿAbd al-Jabbār, Kitāb al-Jumal wa-l-ʿuqūd, Karaites, ʿAlī b. Sulaymān, Genizah studies, Firkovitch collection, Ibn Mattawayh, Zaydīs As is well-known, the Muʿtazila was relatively early banned from mainstream Muslim theology. As a result, the school’s literature was gradually lost in Sunni Islam and eventually fell into complete oblivion. However, Muʿtazilī thought continued to &'ourish in the Islamicate world among minority groups—Muslims and non-Muslims—, speci$%cally the Zaydīs, Karaite and Rabbanite Jews.1 If we have access to an important number of primary sources, it is largely thanks to the reception of Muʿtazilism by Jewish scholars, who, along with the Zaydīs, preserved these texts in their libraries.
    [Show full text]
  • Abū Al-Ḥusayn Al-Baṣrī on the Torah and Its Abrogation∗
    Abū al-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī on the Torah and its Abrogation∗ Sabine SCHMIDTKE Abū al-Ḥusayn Muḥammad b. ‘Alī b. al-Ṭayyib al-Baṣrī (d. 436/1045) was a student of qāḍī al-quḍāt ‘Abd al-Jabbār al-Hamadhānī (d. 415/1025), the head of the Bahshamiyya, while at the same time being trained in medicine and philosophy. He criticized the principles of the Bahshamiyya in an attempt to correct some of their concepts and arguments in order to defend Mu‘tazilī notions more effectively against objections of their opponents. While Abū al-Ḥusayn was ostracized by his fellow students and later Bahshamī Mu‘tazilīs because of his criticism of ‘Abd al-Jabbār, his thought left a major impact on the later development of kalām. Although next to nothing has been preserved of Abū al-Ḥusayn’s theological writings, much of his thought can be reconstructed on the basis of the writings of later followers and, at times, his opponents.1 It was still during his lifetime that his doctrines came to the attention of Karaite Jews, among whom they soon found many followers. That the Karaites became familiar with Abū al-Ḥusayn’s teachings at a very early stage is indicated by two refutations by the leading Karaite theologian of his time, Abū Ya‘qūb Yūsuf al- Baṣīr (d. ca. 431/1040), of Abū al-Ḥusayn’s innovative proof for the existence of the Creator.2 During the latter third of the 5th/11th century the authoritative Karaite theologian in Egypt, Sahl b. al-Faḍl (Yāshār b. Ḥesed) al-Tustarī, fully endorsed ∗ This publication was prepared within the framework of the European Research Council’s FP 7 project “Rediscovering Rationalism in the Medieval World of Islam”.
    [Show full text]
  • Classical Islamic Discourse on the Origins of Language: Cultural Memory and the Defense of Orthodoxy
    Numen 58 (2011) 314–343 brill.nl/nu Classical Islamic Discourse on the Origins of Language: Cultural Memory and the Defense of Orthodoxy Mustafa Shah School of Oriental and African Studies, London University Russell Square, London WC1H OXG England [email protected] Abstract Classical Islamic scholarship developed two principal theses on the subject of the ori- gin of language (asḷ al-lugha). The first of these theses, commonly referred to astawqīf , accentuated the pre-eminent role that divine agency played in the imposition of lan- guage; axiomatic within this perspective is the view that words (lafz ̣ pl. alfāz)̣ have been assigned their meanings (maʿnā pl. maʿānī) primordially by God. Presented as something of an antithesis to this position, the second doctrine, labeled isṭ ilāḥ ,̣ predi- cates that language was established and evolved via a process of common convention and agreement: words together with their meanings were assigned by human beings, although both the doctrines of tawqīf and isṭ ilāḥ ̣ posit that the actual relationship between words and their assigned meanings remains entirely arbitrary, rejecting any sort of natural link between the two. Although later Islamic scholarship accepted that both theses were plausible, within the course of the 9th/10th centuries opinions on the subject were ostensibly polarized between orthodox and arch-rationalist camps with the former endorsing tawqīf and the latter isṭ ilāḥ .̣ In the quest to achieve a conceptual defense of traditional arguments for tawqīf it was necessary for orthodox theologians to create a connective structure, as articulated through reference to remembrance, continuation, and identity, which enabled them to anchor the construct of tawqīf in a formalized way to the scriptural exegesis and emblems of orthodoxy associated with the pious ancestors.
    [Show full text]
  • Islamic Ethics
    ISLAMIC ETHICS This book explores philosophical ethics in Arabo-Islamic thought. Examining the meaning, origin and development of “Divine Command Theory,” it underscores the philosophical bases of religious fundamentalism that hinder social develop- ment and hamper dialogue between different cultures and nations. Challenging traditional stereotypes of Islam, the book refutes contemporary claims that Islam is a defining case of ethical voluntarism, and that the promi- nent theory in Islamic ethical thought is Divine Command Theory. The author argues that, in fact, early Arab-Islamic scholars articulated moral theories: theo- ries of value and theories of obligation. She traces the development of Arabo- Islamic ethics from the early Islamic theological and political debates between the Kharijites and the Murji’ites, shedding new light on the moral theory of Abd al-Jabbar al-Mu’tazili and the effects of this moral theory on post-Mu’tazilite ethical thought. Highlighting important aspects in the development of Islamic thought, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Islamic moral thought and ethics, Islamic law, and religious fundamentalism. Mariam al-Attar is a faculty member in the Department of Ethics, Philosophy and Religion at King’s Academy in Jordan. CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST General Editor: Ian Richard Netton Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Exeter This series studies the Middle East through the twin foci of its diverse cultures and civilizations. Comprising original monographs as well as scholarly surveys, it covers topics in the fields of Middle Eastern literature, archaeology, law, history, philos- ophy, science, folklore, art, architecture and language. While there is a plurality of views, the series presents serious scholarship in a lucid and stimulating fashion.
    [Show full text]