EARLY CHRISTIAN EXPLANATIONS OF THE TRINITY IN ARABIC IN THE CONTEXT OF MUSLIM THEOLOGY by SARA LEILA HUSSEINI A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion University of Birmingham March 2011 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT This doctoral thesis examines the works of Theodore Abū Qurra (d.c.829), Abū Rā’iṭa (d. c.835), and ‘Ammār al-Baṣrī (d.c.850); three of the earliest known Christian theologians to explain and defend their beliefs in Arabic, under Islamic rule. In particular, it focuses on their respective explanations of the doctrine of the Trinity: assessing each individual author’s writings; investigating the tools and arguments they employ; and considering the extent to which they engaged with Islamic theological thought (kalām), primarily through their borrowing of concepts and structures from an internal Islamic debate concerning the divine attributes of God. This study asks to what extent these Christians were essentially translating their traditional doctrine into Arabic, and to what extent they developed a new expression of the Trinity, conceptually influenced by Islamic thinking. The key conclusion of this thesis is that Christian explanations of the Trinity in Arabic, whilst they show a deep awareness of Islamic thought and make use of contemporary Muslim debates surrounding the nature and unity of God, cannot be ii said to represent a development in Christian theology. Rather, such works should be viewed as an informed and creative response to the pressures and challenges of their Islamic surroundings. iii To my mother Mary Elizabeth and my father Rafiq Haidar Husseini For their unwavering love, unending support and utter faith. iv 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 Rā’iṭa and ‘Ammār 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 support 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 particularly our surrogate family member, Troy, who has made it his vocation to point out the ‘odd’ act of procrastination over the past three years. Further acknowledgment goes to my wonderful friend and fellow PhD candidate Gemma Knowles for being there at every stage of this process: from the study sessions and reassuring cups of tea through to the final proof reading of the work. By v the same token my thanks goes to Dr. Emily Scmidt who, having been through this process recently, gave me the wise words of encouragement that only someone who has been there can. My appreciation also extends to Vivienne Gorman, whose calm and rational presence has been invaluable; to a soon-to-be Dr. James Green for helping me to express my ideas a touch more eloquently in the final stages; and to 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 will very much miss our supervision meetings. vi CONTENTS Introduction 1 PART ONE: THREE ARABIC-SPEAKING CHRISTIAN THEOLOGIANS AND THEIR WRITINGS ON THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY (C.800-850) 17 Chapter 1: Historical and Intellectual Environment 18 1.1 Christians in the Islamic empire: historical social and linguistic contexts 19 1.1.1. Historical context 19 1.1.2. Social context 21 1.1.3. Linguistic environment 29 1.2. Christian theologising on the Trinity 36 1.2.1. Philoxenus of Mabbug 39 1.2.2. John of Damascus 44 1.3. Muslim theologising on the nature and unity of God 52 1.3.1. Abū al Hudhayl 57 1.3.2. Ibn Kullāb 62 1.3.3. Nature of kalām 66 1.4 Muslim criticisms of the doctrine of the Trinity: Abu Yūsuf al-Kindī 71 2. Theodore Abū Qurra (c.750-c.820) 2.1 Background 77 2.1.1. Biography 77 2.1.2. Historical Context 81 2.1.3. Intellectual Context 87 2.1.4. Works relating to the Trinity 91 vii 2.2 Setting the Context 95 2.2.1. Relationship between faith and reason 95 2.2.2. Christianity as the true Religion 98 2.3 Explanation of the Trinity 101 2.3.1. Scriptural Proofs 104 2.3.2. Rational analogies 107 2.3.3. Attributes of God 113 2.4. Response to Muslim Questions 121 2.5. Discussion: Abū Qurra’s understanding of the nature of God 134 3. Abū Rā’iṭa al-Takrītī (c.755-c.835) 3.1 Background 142 3.1.1 Biography 142 3.1.2 Historical Context 143 3.1.3 Intellectual Context 146 3.1.4 Works relating to the Trinity 149 3.2 Setting the Context 155 3.2.1. Agreement that God is ‘One’ 155 3.3 Explanation of the Trinity 160 3.3.1. Types of Oneness 160 3.3.2. Absolute vs. Relative names 165 3.4. Response to Muslim Questions 183 3.5. Discussion: Abū Rā’iṭa’s understanding of the nature of God 186 viii 4. ‘Ammār al-Baṣrī (d.c.840) 4.1 Background 198 4.1.1. Biography 198 4.1.2. Historical Context 199 4.1.3. Intellectual Context 203 4.1.4. Works relating to the Trinity 206 4.2 Setting the context 212 4.2.1. What can be known about God 212 4.2.2. Criticism of the teaching that God has no ‘Word’ or ‘Life’ 217 4.2.3. God’s relationship to His Word and Life 223 4.3. Explanation of the Trinity 228 4.3.1. Four categories 228 4.3.2. ‘One and three’ is not a numerical issue 233 4.3.3. ‘Al-uqnūm’ and the relationship between substance and hypostases 235 4.3.4. Biblical proofs 243 4.4 Response to Muslim questions 249 4.5. Discussion: ‘Ammār’s understanding of the nature of God 258 PART TWO: THE ROLE AND FUNCTION OF CHRISTIAN EXPLANATIONS OF THE TRINITY IN ARABIC 5. The tools of Christian Arabic Apologetic 267 5.1. Analogy and metaphor 268 ix 5.2. Scriptural Proofs 290 5.3. Terminology 306 5.4. Rational and Logical Proofs 329 5.4.1. ‘The unity of species’ 329 5.4.2. ‘A Question for the Muslims’ 337 5.4.3. ‘The Headship of God’ 339 5.4.4. ‘Three is the perfect number’ 340 5.5. The “Attribute-apology” 342 6. Christian theologians employing Muslim theology 6.1. Priorities, emphases and engagement with Islamic thought 354 6.1.1. Abū Qurra 355 6.1.2. Abū Rā’iṭa 369 6.1.3. ‘Ammār al-Baṣrī 380 6.2. The role of Christian Arabic works 390 6.2.1. Audience and purpose 390 6.2.2. The place of Christian theology in Arabic and the question of the “Christian mutakallim” 398 Conclusion 411 Bibliography x Library of Congress and the American Library Association Transliteration Scheme Initial Medial Final Alone Romanization omit ﺍ ﺎ ﺎ ﺍ b ﺏ ﺐ ﺒ ﺑ t ﺕ ﺖ ﺘ ﺗ th ﺙ ﺚ ﺜ ﺛ j ﺝ ﺞ ﺠ ﺟ h ﺡ ﺢ ﺤ ﺣ kh ﺥ ﺦ ﺨ ﺧ d ﺩ ﺪ ﺪ ﺩ dh ﺫ ﺬ ﺬ ﺫ r ﺭ ﺮ ﺮ ﺭ z ﺯ ﺰ ﺰ ﺯ s ﺱ ﺲ ﺴ ﺳ sh ﺵ ﺵ ﺸ ﺷ ṣ ﺹ ﺺ ﺼ ﺻ ḍ ﺽ ﺾ ﻀ ﺿ ṭ ﻁ ﻂ ﻄ ﻁ ẓ ﻅ ﻆ ﻆ ﻅ (ayn) ‘ ﻉ ﻊ ﻌ ﻋ gh ﻍ ﻎ ﻐ ﻏ f ﻑ ﻒ ﻔ ﻓ q ﻕ ﻖ ﻘ ﻗ k ﻙ ﻚ ﻜ ﻛ l ﻝ ﻞ ﻠ ﻟ m ﻡ ﻢ ﻤ ﻣ n ﻥ ﻦ ﻨ ﻧ h ﻩ ﻪ ﻬ ﻫ w ﻭ ﻮ ﻮ ﻭ y ﻯ ﻰ ﻴ ﻳ Vowels and dipthongs: a ā ī aw u á xi ay i ū INTRODUCTION This doctoral thesis examines the works of three of the earliest known Christian theologians to explain and defend their beliefs in Arabic. In particular, it deals with their writings on the doctrine of the Trinity, which has proven to be a fundamental theological stumbling block throughout the history of Christian-Muslim interaction.