Abstract

Modern research on theological production in the early Mamlūk sultanate of Egypt and Syria has focused primarily on the prolific Ḥanbalī theologians Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328) and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 751/1350).2 This does not mean, however, that they were generally representative of early Mamlūk theological discourse. On the contrary, they expressed highly controversial views that others sought to marginalize and quell, even by state sanction. In 698/1298 religious scholars in Damascus charged Ibn Taymiyya with ascribing bodily characteristics to God in his al-Ḥamawiyya al-kubrā,3 a fatwa that he had written for the people of Ḥamāh.4 Ibn Taymiyya emerged victorious over his detractors, but the charge of corporealism (tajsīm) in God’s attributes emerged again in 705/1306 when the Mamlūk viceroy in Damascus subjected him to three hearings before the leading religious scholars of the day. These hearings were inconclusive, and Ibn Taymiyya was thus summoned to the Mamlūk capital Cairo soon thereafter for a hearing that convicted him of corporealism and other doctrines deemed reprehensible. He was imprisoned and subjected to further hearings in Egypt before returning to Damascus in 712/1313.5 More than three decades later, in the late 740s/1340s, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya also came under attack for Taymiyyan views on God’s attributes and other theological matters from the Shāfiʿī Chief Judge of Damascus Taqī l-Dīn al-Subkī (d. 756/1355)

Highlights

  • It is apparent from the writings of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya and accounts of their trials that their primary opponents were generally Asharī in theology

  • These hearings were inconclusive, and Ibn Taymiyya was summoned to the Mamlūk capital Cairo soon thereafter for a hearing that convicted him of corporealism and other doctrines deemed reprehensible

  • For Ibn Taymiyya’s own account of the Damascus trials, see Jackson, “Ibn Taymiyyah on Trial”. 6 Bori and Holtzman, A Scholar in the Shadow, 22-26; Holtzman, “Accused”. The thought of these opponents has not been examined from their own writings, and, apart from Louis Pouzet’s brief survey of intellectual currents in his study of thirteenth century Damascene religious institutions,[7] very little is known about Asharism under the early Mamlūks.[8]

Read more

Summary

Introduction

It is apparent from the writings of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya and accounts of their trials that their primary opponents were generally Asharī in theology.

Results
Conclusion

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.