Ibn Taymiyya, Radical Polymath, Part 2: Intellectual Contributions

Abstract

AbstractPart one of this two‐part article surveys Ibn Taymiyya's life with particular attention to biographical perceptions in the premodern as well as modern worlds. The second part hones in on Ibn Taymiyya's intellectual contributions to a number of debates in his lifetime and following, with particular attention to how secondary scholarship has framed his work. Contemporary authors often reduce Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328) to a modern political inspiration by giving attention to his influence on allegedly puritanical religio‐political movements in the modern world. Participants in these movements, including ‘Salafis’ and ‘Wahhabis,’ have selectively adopted his views on issues ranging from jihād to anti‐Sufi tendencies and the promotion of state‐sponsored Islamic law (sharī‘a). The complex polymath, however, wrote prodigiously on numerous topics including theology, political theory, qur'anic exegesis, jurisprudence, and mysticism. Although he espoused violence in some situations, he was a pacifist at other times. This, combined with his attention to independent legal reasoning (ijtihād), often offended authorities and landed him in jail on more than one occasion. Just as he upbraided certain Sufis, moreover, he also espoused a type of Sufism in accord with his own persuasions. We must therefore recognize the Damascene polymath for his abilities to adroitly navigate and contribute to all manners of debates in his time, regardless of—although relevant to—how modern scholars have understood his writings.