a mamluk theologian's commentary on avicenna's risala adhawiyya - y. michot

7/28/2019 A Mamluk Theologian's Commentary on Avicenna's Risala Adhawiyya - Y. Michot

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Journal of Islamic Studies 14:2 (2003) pp. 149203 Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies 2003

A MAML ? K THEOLOGIANS

COMMENTARY ON AVICENNASRIS 2 LA ADE AWIYYA

BEING A TRANSLATION OF A PARTOF THE DAR 8 AL-TA 62RU D OF IBN

TAYMIYYA, WITH INTRODUCTION,ANNOTATION, AND APPENDICES

PART I

YAHYA J. MICHOTFaculty of Theology, Oxford University

Avicennas Epistle on the Ma 6:d for the Feast of the Sacrice (al-Ris : lat al-A@Aawiyya f ; amr al-ma 6:d )1 is probably his most important work oneschatology. It starts with a denition of ma6:d as the place or statereached by humans when they die. It surveys and refutes what thephilosopher calls false ideas about the hereafter. It then demonstratesthe purely immaterial nature of the human self and, consequently, itsnecessary permanence after death. Finally, it distinguishes variouscategories of humans and their respective future destinies, and examinesthe question of bodily resurrection. Because of its sometimes very daring

views, the work has been judged by various modern scholars as1 See G. C. Anawati, Essai de bibliographie avicennienneMu 8allaf : t Ibn S; n:

(Cairo: Al-Maaref, Mille naire dAvicenne, 1950), 2567, no. 200; Y. Mahdavi,Bibliographie dIbn SinaFihrist-e nuskhath : -ye muBannaf : t-e Ibn-i S; n:(Tehran: Tehran University, 1333/1954), 3941, no. 30. Editions by S. Duny : ,Ibn S; n: , al-Ris: lat al-A @Aawiyya f ; l-ma6:d (Cairo: D : r al-kr al- 6Arab ;, 1328/ 1949); F. Lucchetta, Avicenna, al-Ris : lat al-A @Aawiyya f ; l-ma6:dEpistola sullaVita Futura (Padova: Antenore, 1969), 5227; E . 62B;, al-A@Aawiyya f ; l-ma6:d li-Ibn S; n: (Beirut: al-Mu 8assasat al-j : mi6iyya li-l-dir : s: t wa-l-nashr wa-l-tawz ;6,1404/1984), 85158. Translations into Italian by F. Lucchetta, Epistola , 4226;Persian in H. Khadiw-i Djam, al-A@Aawiyya by Ibn Sina (Tehran: EttelaatPublications 1364/1985) 31 85 I use F Lucchettas edition (hereafter L) which


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particularly esoteric, reserved for the circle of Avicennas closestdisciples and friends, andevenjustifying Ab < E: mid al-Ghaz : l;saccusations of heresy against him! 2 As for the dating of the A@Aawiyya ,these scholars have generally taken the view that such a work could have

been written only when Avicennas thought had fully matured, duringthe last years of his life, nelle ultime tappe del suo burrascosoperegrinare. 3

I have contested the usefulness of the concept of esotericism asan approach not only to the A@Aawiyya but to Avicennas writings ingeneral, and I have argued that this epistle is an early work. 4 In myopinion, it must be identied with the Book on the Return (Kit : b al-Ma 6:d ) mentioned in Avicennas long bibliography, and thereforewas written during his stay in Rayy in 405/101415. According to

al-Bayhaq ; (d. 565/1169),5

it was dedicated to the vizier Ab < Sa6dal-Hamadh : n;. This statement can be accepted and helps to understandthe circumstances in which the epistle was composed: it was not directedto any circle of close disciples or friends but to a potential patron, in aperiod when Avicenna, a young Bukh : ran immigrant newly arrived inone of the most brilliant B


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century, by Andrea Alpago of Belluno ( c.14501522). 9 From about 1487to, it seems, 1517, the Italian served as physician to the Venetianconsulate in Damascus. Apart from medicine and philosophy, he alsobecame interested in the political developments of that time in Syria (the

last Maml


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in Damascus, he had enjoyed the friendship and teaching of someone he himself calls Rays Ebenmechi, praeceptor meus andEbenmechi, physicus inter omnes Arabes primarius, 12 i.e. Mu AammadShams al-D ;n Ibn al-Makk ; (d. 938/1532), the famous shaykh of

the physicians in Damascus and, even, elsewhere, according to Najm al-D;n al-Ghazz ; (d. 1061/1651), who also knew and taught cosmography,geometry, astronomy, physics, and the science of divinity. 13 TheBelluneses interest in the A@Aawiyya and other Avicennan writingspreviously unknown in Europe can almost certainly be traced back to hisrelationship with this important Syrian scholar.

Once translated and published in Latin, the A@Aawiyya was, inAlpagos mind, sure to be of great help in promoting in Europe aspiritualist and personalist conception of man and the hereafter,

against Averroes materialist and unitarist psychology, or Pompon-azzis eschatological agnosticism. 14 As for the inuence this epistle hadon Islamic thought during the ve centuries separating Avicenna fromAlpago, it has not yet been investigated. Avicennas modern biblio-graphers do not mention any commentary on, or refutation of, theepistle. Interestingly, it is among the Avicennan texts collected in thephilosophico-eschatological majm


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entitled to think that the A@Aawiyya was read by some of the mostimportant thinkers of medieval Islam.

In an earlier publication, I indicated a few textual parallels betweenthe last pages of the epistle and parts of one of the versions of the Kit : b al-

Ma@ n


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to quote is part of a different writing, The Guidance (al-Irsh : d ), whoseattribution to Avicenna is itself questionable. 17

Fakhr al-D ;n al-R : z; is far more serious when, in his Commentary onAvicennas The Sources of Wisdom (SharA 6Uy


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we have mentioned, i.e. that the Lawgiver is under the obligation to guide thecreatures towards confessing [Gods] absolute exemption [from deciencies](tanz ; h) and towards confessing His being qualied by all perfection and majesty.As for his words And left free to obtain them perfectly by the rational faculty,through argumentation, their meaning is what we have mentioned, i.e. that thesesubtle subjects of study, [the Lawgiver] is under the obligation to entrust theknowing of them to the intellects of smart creatures.

In this important passage, al-R : z; is not paying attention to theideas developed in the A@Aawiyya concerning psychology or eschatologybut, rather, to Avicennas understanding of the purpose and limits of anyprophetic mission, as expressed in the third section of the epistle. 21

Avicennas philosophy of prophethood is not idealist but pragmatic andethically oriented. 22 The Messengers are sent to guide humans on the

right path and establish law, justice, and order in their jungle, not toteach them theology or any other science. To lead people to Paradise,revelations must be obeyed by them literally rather than interpreted asimages or symbols of some intellectual or esoteric truth that mustnecessarily be learnt by all. What the Qur 8:n tells the masses about Godis in fact limited to a few general but ethically useful statements. As forthe very subtle doctrines of scholastic theodicy elaborated bythe Mutakallim


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supradicta sunt sermones, ad docendum homines scientia excellentes,non vulgares, quod sensus exterior legis, ut verba sonant, est nonnecessarium, neque utilis ad concludendum aliquid in his capitulis. 23

The essential purpose of the Qur 8:nic descriptions of Paradise and Hell is

to inspire fear, hope, and other feelings of great ethical benet, not tofound any eschatological science.Al-R: z; does not share this Avicennan prophetology and reads the

passage of the A@Aawiyya to which he is referring in a sense that has verylittle to do with the philosophers intentions in that section of his epistle.Whereas Avicenna develops his hermeneutic of the revealed texts inorder to criticize Kal : m, al-R : z; misuses it in order to legitimize the kindof rationalist theology for which he himself is famous!

Is it al-R : z;s suspect interpretation of an important part of theA@Aawiyya which, a bit more than one century later, led the Shaykh al-Isl: m Ibn Taymiyya to devote his attention to the same text? In thepresent state of Taymiyyan studies, it is impossible to give a deniteanswer to this question. One thing, however, is certainthe greatinterest of the theologian in the Shaykh al-Ra 8;s works, 24 among themthe A@Aawiyya . According to his disciple Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya(d. 751/1350), he indeed wrote some Rules (qaw :6id ) concerning theEstablishment of the Return (ma6:d ) and Refutation of Avicenna in hisRis: la A@Aawiyya. About one volume. 25 Moreover, he comments on thehermeneutical pages of the epistle in his long Averting the Conict between Reason and [religious] Tradition (Dar 8 ta6:ru@ al-6aql wa-l-naql ), also known under the title The Agreement between what issoundly transmitted [in religious matters] and what is clearly intellected

23 Avicenna, A@Aawiyya , trans. Alpago, De mahad , fo. 45 v ; see below, p. 18 .24 Ibn Taymiyyas Avicennism, be it positive or negative, is indubitable in

many respects. It is what originally aroused my interest in him and, in thepublications I have since devoted to him, I have situated him vis-a-vis the

Shaykh al-Ra 8;s in places too numerous to mention here. This essential aspectof Ibn Taymiyyas thought, however, remains to be studied systematically.For some of his general opinions on the philosopher, see the texts translated byY. Michot, Musique et danse selon Ibn Taymiyya: Le Livre du Sam :6 et de ladanse (Kit : b al-sam :6 wa-l-raq B) compile par le Shaykh Mu Aammad al-Manbij ; (Paris: J. Vrin, 1991), 779; by W. Hallaq, Ibn Taymiyya against the GreekLogicians (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993), 636; and by D. Gutas, TheHeritage of Avicenna: The Golden Age of Arabic Philosophy, 1000 c.1350, in J. Janssens and D. De Smet (eds.), Avicenna and his Heritage (Louvain: LeuvenUniversity Press, 2002), 85.

25 Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Asm:8 mu8allaf : t Shaykh al-Isl : m Ibn Taymiyya ,

ed. 4. D. al-Munajjid (Beirut: D : r al-kit : b al-jad ;d, 1403/1983), 20, no. 2.A Refutation of Avicenna in his Ris: la A@Aawiyya. Almost one volume isalso mentioned by Ibn 6Abd al-H : d; (d 744/1343) al-6Uq


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(Muw : faqa BaA;A al-manq


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A@Aawiyya in the rst part of the twentieth of these, 29 which heintroduces as follows:

Viewpoint XX. It is that we will say that [the path] on which those deniers of the[divine] attributes trodthat is, opposing the divine texts by means of their[own] viewsis in itself what the eternalist ( dahr ; ) heretics used as argumentagainst them in order to reject the things that God had told His servantsconcerning the Last Day. [They went] as far as considering that no knowledgecan be derived from what the prophets have told about God and about the LastDay. Then, they transferred this [judgement] to the actions 30 they had beencommanded [to perform], like the ve prayers, almsgiving, fasting, thepilgrimage, and they considered them as prescribed upon the commonalty, notthe elite. Therefore, they eventually got to the point where they became hereticsabout the three fundamentals on which the religions ( milla ) are agreed, just as He

has said, exalted is He: Those who have faith, those who are Jews, theNazarenes, and the Sabaeanswhoever has faith in God and the Last Day andacts virtuouslywill have their recompense with their Lord. No fear shall be onthem, neither shall they grieve (Q. 2. 62). [ 4] The matter led those who weretreading on the path of these unto heresy, concerning faith in God and the LastDay as well as virtuous action. This even spread among many of those who delveinto the true realities ( Aaq :8iq)the adepts of speculation ( naCar ) and devotion(ta8alluh ) among the Kal : m theologians and the Sus. 31

In the A@Aawiyya , it is Avicennas hermeneutic of the revealed textsthat interests Ibn Taymiyya, as it did al-R : z;, not his psychological andeschatological views. This is already clear when, at the very beginning of the Dar 8, he briey mentions Avicennas epistle for the rst time:

Avicenna and his like based on this principle the rule ( q: n


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Ibn Taymiyya obviously rejects Avicennas understanding of thepurpose of prophethood as a guidance relying on an imaged discoursecapable of mobilizing imaginations and estimative faculties, to befollowed by the crowd in its literality, independently of the question of its

truth or falsehood but unacceptable as a source of knowledge for anykind of theological or eschatological research. The Shaykh al-Isl : m isnevertheless greatly interested in Avicennas arguments against theKal : m doctrine of God as he considers them legitimate and to the point.According to him, the Shaykh al-Ra 8;s is indeed completely right whenhe criticizes the discontinuity between the literality of the Qur 8:n and thesubtile lucubrations of theologians like the Mu 6tazil ;s and their likeconcerning divinalia . That being soIbn Taymiyya seems to relishaddingAvicenna should realize that he will himself be carried off by the

attack he launches against the Mutakallim


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manner. On a statement in the A@Aawiyya where he thinks thephilosopher speaks of God in too abstract a way, the theologian simplyturns to quotation from and commentary on the Ish : r: t , re-examiningonce more a metaphysical question he is quite keen onthe non-

existence of universals outside of the mind. As to structure in hiscommentary on the Epistle on the Ma 6:d for the Feast of the Sacrice ,the most one might venture to claim is that it unfolds in three main parts.

In the rst part, Ibn Taymiyya analyses Avicennas hermeneutics anduses the latters attacks against the Mu 6tazil ;s to invalidate all negationisttheology. Such a recourse to Avicennas ideas is paradoxical in that IbnTaymiyya then denounces the perverse consequences of the philosopherspolitical prophetology. 34 The theologians situation, in doing so, ishowever less uncomfortable than Avicennas in that he is able to point

out how the latters philosophical theology can itself become a legitimatetarget of his own anti-Mu 6tazil ; attacks. Comments on three particularhermeneutical statements of the A@Aawiyya conclude this section.

A second part of Ibn Taymiyyas commentary is purely theologicalinthe narrow sense of the wordand addresses the problem of the essence,the knowledge, and the other attributes of God. The point is to refuteAvicennas negationist philosophical theology. In relation to specicpassages of the A@Aawiyya , Ibn Taymiyya is led not only to clarifyvarious scholastic notions and doctrinal facts but also to enter a

34 One could accuse Ibn Taymiyya of na vete , or of playing with re, when hepraises Avicennas denunciation of the non-scripturality of Mu 6tazil ; theology, asthis denunciation is developed by the Shaykh al-Ra 8;s within a philosophy of religion that is obviously unacceptable to the theologian: an exclusively socio-political conception of the purpose of prophethood and an hermeneutic denyingto the Qur 8:n any kind of immediate usefulness in matters of theology oreschatology. As soon as he acknowledges Avicennas merits, Ibn Taymiyya isindeed compelled to underline and condemn the seriously perverse consequences

of his ideas: since the prophets do not really teach any clear truth, many will bethosesaints, im : ms, gnostics, etc.eager to supply the lack with their ownteachings and then claim to be equal or superior to the prophets, not only intheology or eschatology but, even, in Legal matters. The socio-politicalusefulness of prophethood is an idea that Ibn Taymiyya himself accepts only aslong as it is properly understood, i.e. not in the Avicennan perspective of aguidance having nothing to do with knowledge of the truth. On the otherhand, the analysis and rejection of the perverse consequences of AvicennasQur 8:nic hermeneutics somehow t in with the general project of refutingthe rationalist objection pursued in Dar 8. Negationist theologians, philosophers,gnostics, and other holy or sectarian esotericists all share a similar contempt

for the outward meaning of the Scripture, and the will to substitute their ownideas for the Prophetic message. That said, there remains the peculiarity of thegreat Maml


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relatively long excursus. As a case study, he examines some passagesof the late Mu 6tazil ; theologian Ab < l-E usayn al-Ba Br; (d. 436/1044),with extensive textual quotations, commentaries on specic statements,and insertion of a text by yet another author, the E anbal ; Ab< l-E asan

al-Tam ;m; (d. 371/982). Just like Russian dolls or 1001 Nights stories, acommentary is tted within another, within another . . . Commentson three particular theological statements of the A@Aawiyya concludethis section.

In the last part, Ibn Taymiyya goes back to hermeneutics, in relation tovarious specic passages of the A@Aawiyya . The core questions are,again, the scope and limits of the scriptural and prophetic teachings and,correlatively, the nature and validity of theological research. Theapproach is now multi-confessional, as Avicennas text refers to not

only the Qur 8:n but the Bible. Ibn Taymiyyas anger becomes noticeableconcerning what he regards as Avicennas contemptuous opinion of theProphets Companions and early Muslims, as well as of Moses Hebrews.

Ibn Taymiyya alludes to or examines at some length many unexpectedtopics during the course of his commentary, either because he wants todelve deeper into a question or because he cannot resist a digression. Byway of example, sufce it to mention here the links he establishesbetween Avicennan hermeneutics and esotericism or anomialism (pp.223 ), or between negationist theology and associationism (p. 52 ) orcharlatanry (pp. 623 ), his exposure of pseudepigraphic literature inIslam (pp. 268 ), his radical detraction of the philosophers achieve-ments in politics (p. 65 ) and his critique of their assimilationism (pp. 813).

The following outline of the content of his commentary should give aclearer idea of its design:

Quoted pages of the A@Aawiyya (pp. 1018 )

Commentary (pp. 1886 )

I. Avicennas hermeneutics (pp. 1833 )A. Refutation of Avicennas ideas (pp. 1830 )

1. The validity of Avicennas attacks against the negationisttheologians (pp. 1823 )(a) The deniers taw A; d (pp. 1920 ); Ibn T


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2. The vain nature of Avicennas ideas: his argument can be usedagainst himself (pp. 2430 )(a) The explicit and clear message of the Messengers (pp. 248); The Messengers esotericism and the lies told about

the Prophet, 6Al;, and others (pp. 268 ); (b) Nobody candispense with being guided by the Prophet (p. 29 ); (c)Avicennas attack against the deniers taw A; d is correctand whoever agrees with them is ignorant, including himself (p. 30 )

B. Commentary on Avicennas hermeneutical particular statements(pp. 303 )1. The aim of revelation (pp. 301 )2. Where is the pure taw A; d in the Qur 8:n? (p. 31 )3. Where are the subtleties of taw A; d theology in the Qur 8:n? For

Ibn Taymiyya, the Qur 8:n has a very comprehensive and cleartheology (pp. 323 )

II. The problem of the essence, the knowledge, and the other attributes of God (pp. 3359 )

A. Refutation of Avicennas negationist views (pp. 334 )B. Theological precisions and verbal disputes (pp. 346 )

1. Denition of essence (dh : t ) (pp. 345 )2. Attributes and states (p. 35 )3. The sectarian divisions between attributists and Mu 6tazil ;s

(p. 36 )C. A case study: Ab < l-E usayn al-Ba Br; (pp. 3650 )

1. Ab< l-E usayn al-Ba Br;s quotation (pp. 368 )2. Commentary on Ab < l-E usayn al-Ba Br;s statements (pp.

3850 )(a) Essence, attributes, pre-eternity, signicates, and states (pp.3842 ); (b) The Kull: b;s and the Nazarenes (p. 43 ); (c) Twoarguments of Ab < l-E usayn al-Ba Br; against the attributists (p.43 ); (d ) Signicates, states, and attributes (pp. 446 ); (e) Thedeniers defame the attributists about the multiplicity of pre-eternity and alterity of the attributes (pp. 4650 ); Ab< l-E asanal-Tam ;m; about pre-eternity of God and His attributes(pp. 479 ); Quotation of Ab < l-E asan al-Tam ;m; (pp. 478 );Three views on the alterity of the attributes (Ibn E anbal, al-Ash6ar ;, al-B: qill: n;) (pp. 4950 )

D. Commentary on Avicennas statements concerning the essenceand the attributes (pp. 509 )

1. Avicennas tactic against the deniers can be used against him by

162 yahya j . michot


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2. The oneness of God. Ultra-negationist theology and associa-tionism (pp. 525 )(a) Negationist theology and negation of the Prophetsprophethood (pp. 534 ); (b) The mental existence of an

essence without attribute (pp. 545 )3. God, space, and position (pp. 556 )(a) The notion of space ( Aayyiz) (pp. 568 ); Rationality of therevelation, questionability of the Kal : m theses (p. 57 ); (b) Thenotion of position ( jiha) (pp. 589 )

III. Commentary on Avicennas hermeneutical particular statements(pp. 5986 )A. Is theological research necessary? (p. 59 )

B. Is the true taw A; d clearly taught in the revelation? (pp. 5960 )C. Were the Hebrews and the Arabs forced to theologize? (pp. 603 )

1. The missionary methodology of negationist theologians (p. 61 )2. Pristine natures ( 3 ra ) favour attributism as they are predis-

posed to grasp the true essence of things (pp. 612 )3. Negationist theology and charlatanry tricks (pp. 623 )

D. Avicennas contempt for the Hebrews and the Arabs (pp. 6373 )1. Superiority of the people around the prophets Mu Aammad

and Moses (pp. 634 )2. Ignorance of Avicenna, his like, and his predecessors: Aris-

totle, etc. (pp. 649 )(a) Stupidity of the followers of the Ism :6;l;s (p. 64 ); (b) Theasco of philosophers in politics (p. 65 ); (c) Scientic clevernessand lack of religion (p. 65 ); (d ) Jews and Nazarenes aresuperior to the philosophers, and less of a corruption than thecommonalty of Ism :6;l;s, Tatars, etc. (pp. 667 ); (e) Ignoranceof the astrologers, sorcerers, etc. (pp. 678 ); (f ) Aristotle was anassociationist wizard and the vizier of Alexander (pp. 689 );Alexander and Dh < l-Qarnayn (p. 69 )

3. Perfection of the intellects of the followers of the prophets (pp.6973 )(a) Superiority of the Companions of the Prophet, ignorance of their critics (pp. 6970 ); (b) There is no smarter communitythan the Arabs (p. 71 ); (c) Perfection of the Arabic language,and then Hebrew (p. 71 ); Al-Ghaz : l;s opinion (p. 71 ); (d )How could Avicenna despise the perfect intelligence of Islamsgreat names, and their submission to the Companions? (p. 72 );Al-Sh: 6;s opinion (p. 73 )

E. Avicennas idea that God does not want to teach the truth to the

ibn taymiyya on av icennas R I S 2 L A A DE AWIYYA 163


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1. It is true that it is not proper for everybody to know allsciences. Scriptural proofs of that point (pp. 736 ); Godsrevelation follows a method (p. 76 )

2. Negationist theology is rejected by intelligent people as well as

by the crowd (p. 76 )F. Avicennas remark that the whole of the Jewish Bible is assimi-lationism (pp. 7781 )1. This is an important argument for the attributists against the

negationists (pp. 778 ); The Prophet and Moses conrm eachother (p. 78 )

2. Avicenna is right to say that it would be impossible to falsifythe Bible entirely (pp. 7881 ); The Prophet did not criticize theanthropomorphisms of the Jewish Bible (pp. 7981 )

G. Avicennas remark that the whole of the Jewish Bible is assimi-lationism ( bis) (pp. 815 )1. Some assimilationism is inevitable and acceptable (p. 81 )2. Examples of philosophical assimilationism (pp. 813 )3. The People of the Books assimilationism is better than

any philosophical one (p. 83 )4. Association in characteristics and difference, in the case of

God and others (pp. 835 )H. Avicennas statement that the revelation must hide the truth

(pp. 856 )1. The science of secrets and Islam (pp. 856 )2. The agreement between true inner reality and true outer

reality (p. 86 )

Transition: commentary on Avicennas negationist taw A; d (p. 87 )

One may reasonably assume that the A@Aawiyya continued to be read inIran after Fakhr al-D ;n al-R : z;. Mull : 4adr : al-Sh;r: z; (d. 1050/

1640), for example, refers to it explicitly in the Asf : r,35

concerning thedifference between imaginal forms and forms perceived by the senses.However, this Eastern destiny of Avicennas work has yet to beinvestigated systematically. In addition to its rich content, one of themain interests of Ibn Taymiyyas commentary on the A@Aawiyya is todemonstrate that this most controversial writing of the Shaykh al-Ra 8;swas also studied and its authority recognized in Maml


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Alpago would discover it there. The Damascene theologians commen-tary therefore not only provides a useful milestone to trace the historicalitinerary followed by the text from Iran to Venice but also contributes toa better understanding of the fate and metamorphoses of falsafa in the

Sunn ; Near East during the later Middle Ages.The work done by F. Lucchetta on Alpago and the A@Aawiyyadeserves the greatest consideration. The Italian scholar is neverthelessmistaken when she writes, in relation to this epistle of Avicenna, thatnellIslam sunnita le opere del losofo erano state proibite. 36 Around1500, the A@Aawiyya and other philosophical texts of the Shaykhal-Ra 8;s circulated in Damascus in the intellectual milieu of the mostimportant Syrian professor of medicine of the time. Moreover, some twocenturies earlier, a E anbal ; theologian had not hesitated to use some of its most daring ideas to oppose Kal : m of the Mu 6tazil ; type and boost hisown literalist rationalism in Qur 8:nic hermeneutics.

About philosophical matters as well as in medicine, the ideas of thegreat philosopher thus were far from having lost their seductive poweron the western side of the Euphrates as well. And, as I have explainedelsewhere, 37 it is not because there were no more fal : sifa as such thatfalsafa would have become extinct. In Maml


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had become poisoned by philosophy. 39 Can it however have been formere unthinking taql ; d , vis-a-vis his master, that Ibn Qayyim al- Jawziyyaalthough he undoubtedly had a less philosophically orientedminddoes himself not renounce quoting the whole of the hermeneu-

tical pages of the A@Aawiyya in his Book of the Thunderbolts sent against the Jahm ; s and the Reductionists ?40 In fact, positive and/or

of philosophy in relation to medicine in Damascus during the 7th/13th centuryand earlier, see A. M. Edde , Les Me decins dans la socie te syrienne du VII e / XIII e siecle, in Annales islamologiques 29 (Cairo: IFAO, 1995), 91109; 967;G. Leiser, Medical Education in Islamic Lands from the Seventh to theFourteenth Century, in Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences ,38 (Bethesda, Md., 1983), 4875; 64. On the Damascene madrasa s andhospitals where medicine was taught at the end of the Maml


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negative tafalsuf under the Maml


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could have been far more complex and richer than imagined bymany . . .41

Near the end of his commentary, Ibn Taymiyya refers to an inter-pretation of 6Al;s famous saying Speak to people about things they

know . . . proposed by Averroes (d. 595/1198). The text of theAndalusian philosopher he has in mind is almost surely the one foundin the rst pages of his Uncovering the Ways [to be followed] by Proofs(al-Kashf 6an man : hij al-adilla ).42 In his opinion, Averroes shares the

41 On the great usefulness of Ibn Taymiyyas Dar 8 to explore this continent,see Y. Michot, Vanite s. For a primary survey of post-classical fal : sifa, see D.Gutas, Heritage (I personally would rather have spoken of tafalsuf ormutafalsif s). D. Behrens-Abouseif offers very valuable suggestions on the

evolution of Maml


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hermeneutics and philosophy of prophetic predication of the esotericist[attributes-]denying philosophers. In other words, he is somehow onthe same wavelength as Avicenna in the A@Aawiyya concerning thenecessity of a philosophical science of divinity and the invalidity of

theologizing popular religion. Ibn Taymiyya does not explicitly linkAverroes ideas to those of the A@Aawiyya , but the context in which herefers to the Cordoban philosopher suggests that he considers there is arelation between them. 43 His doing so makes one wonder whetherAverroes really had access to the Avicennan text. The temptation isindeed great to recognize echosdistant but clearof the A@Aawiyya shermeneutical pages in various propositions of the Decisive Treatise(FaBl al-maq : l ). For example, whereas Avicenna writes that what iswanted ( yur : mu ) by the Law ( shar 6) and religion ( milla ) which have

come [to us] through the tongue of any of the prophets is to address(khi3:b) all the crowd ( al-jumh


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bi-l-akthar ) (without neglecting to arouse the elite). 45 On the otherhand, exactly as Avicenna states that God could in no way havecharged any of the Messengers to communicate the true meanings(Aaq :8iq) of [theological] matters to the crowd ( al-jumh


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Messenger have made compulsory, nobody having the right to makecompulsory for the Muslims something that neither God nor HisMessenger have made compulsory. 49 More generally, the Shaykh al-Isl: m and the two philosophers show the same contempt for any

intrusion in popular belief by Kal : m theology of the Mu 6tazil ;,Ghaz : lian, or R : zian types. They are therefore able to cover somedistance together even if they pursue different courses. In the case of the two philosophers, this is to establish exclusive rights to rationallegitimacy for their philosophical discourses on God; in Ibn Taymiyyascase, it is to reafrmagainst the claims of philosophers as well as of Kal : m theologiansthe self-sufciency of the religious rationalitymanifested in scriptural literality and common faith, and its validity forall, the elite as well as the crowd. Avicenna and Averroes are right to

encourage the populace to believe in the outward meaning of therevelation. For Ibn Taymiyya, both should however have motives fordoing so other than exclusively socio-political reasons of publicinterest. Moreover, they should themselves also have faith in the

between Scripture and Reason, and validity of theology, it is now obvious thatAvicenna, al-Ghaz : l;, Averroes, al-R : z;, and Ibn Taymiyya should all be studiedin relation to each other. And as Ibn Taymiyya compares Avicennas A@Aawiyyato The Keys of Sovereignty of the Ism :6;l; philosopher Ab < Ya6q


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manifest meaning of the Scripture. 50 The saying of 6Al; to whichthe theologian refers in the closing passages of his commentary on theA@Aawiyya is often misunderstood. Of course, revelation does notmean total disclosureareas of secrecy and mystery are maintained by

the religion. This is, however, no reason to disdain the outwardteachings of the Scripture as popular and to indulge in an elitistesotericism that conicts with them. For the faithful, the true innerreality is indeed in agreement with the true outer reality. 51 IbnTaymiyya is far removed from the Avicennizing concern of Averroes tosecure both the possibility of deism for the masses and of rationalismfor the elite. 52 Compared to this dichotomic, disdainful, and irrealisticagenda of the Andalusian philosopher, which soon proved the failureit could logically have been expected to be, the Shaykh al-Islams

hermeneutically economic and socially more egalitarian, humble, andbalanced call for an informed and critical reconciliation of Religionand Reason appears both more humane and closer to what may beconsidered the true spirit of Islam. 53

50 It could be said to Ibn Taymiyya that Avicennas faith in the outwardmeaning of the revelation is afrmed both by the convergence of his philosophicaldoctrine of divinity with certain fundamental statements of the Qur 8:n and byhis willingness and ability to discover in the latteralthough the essential

nality of revelation is not to teach themimages and symbols of a number of philosophical ideas, in eschatology or in other matters, which he develops.Further, he would have drawn his critics attention to the fact thatunlikee.g. al-F : r: b;he endeavours to theorize an imaginal form of the resurrectionand of the hereafter that defends the revealed message against all allegations of lying and failure (see Y. Michot, Destine e, 3949). Although Avicennasprophetology is far from devoid of merits in the eyes of the Shaykh al-Isl : m,there is no doubt that such explanations would have been unacceptable to him.

51 See p. 86 .52 A. de Libera, introduction to M. Geoffroy, Livre , 74.53 In his comments on the Kashf , Ibn Taymiyya nevertheless considers that

people who mix with the Sunn ;s and the Aad ; th scholars, like Averroes and Ab


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TRANSLATION

[THE EPISTLE FOR THE FEAST OF THE

SACRIFICE ]What is aimed at here is [to explain] that these heretics ( mul Aid ), [i.e.Avicenna and his like,] use as arguments against the deniers [of the divineattributes] things on which they agree with them, [notably] denyingthe[se] attributes and turning away from the evidential quality ( dal : la) of the [Qur 8:nic] verses. Avicenna indeed mentioned that in the Epistle forthe Feast of the Sacrice (al-Ris : lat al-A@Aawiyya ), which he composedabout the return ( ma6:d ) [of the soul in the hereafter] for some of the

statesmen ( ra8; s) whom he was seeking to get closer to so that they wouldgive him what he sought from them: a position ( j: h) and money. Hestated that openly at the beginning of this epistle. 54 He spoke about [thattopic] when he mentioned the argument of those who afrm the return of the body [in the hereafter] and [said] that what prompted them to do sowas [precisely] that which the Law ( shar 6) states of the resurrection of the dead.

. Concerning the Law, he said, 55 one ought to know one single rule ( q: n


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Furthermore, in the Furq : n,58 nothing is stated that might point to [ 12 ] thismost important matter and no detailed explanation provided [to us] with anexplicit 59 [statement] of what one needs to know concerning taw A; d . Instead,some things have come 60 [to us] by way of assimilationism, through the outermeaning ( C:hir ) [of the text], while others arrived in an absolutelyexemptionistic ( tanz ; h) and very general [formulation], supporting neitherparticularization ( takh B;B) nor commentary ( tafs ; r). As for the assimilationistic[traditional] reports ( khabar ),61 they are too many to be counted; people arehowever allowed not to accept them. Such being the matter concerning taw A; d ,how [a fortiori will things be] concerning the matters of belief coming afterthat?

Some people might say that the Arabs have a way of speaking loosely(tawassu 6) and metaphorically ( maj : z), and that, although assimilationisticterms like the hand, the face, 62 coming in the shadows of the clouds,

arriving, going, laughing, modesty, and anger63

are true, the way theyare used and the direction [followed by] the textual expression ( jihat al-6ib: ra)64 indicate that they are used guratively ( musta 6:r) and 65 metaphori-cally.

. That [these terms] are used non-metaphorically and non-guratively but,rather, [ 13 ] in their real sense ( muAaqqaq ), [Avicenna also] says, 66 is indicated bythe fact that 67 the passages which [these people] put forward as an argument[showing] that the Arabs use these meanings in a gurative and metaphoricalway, different from the [corresponding] outer meanings, are passages in the likeof which it is right to have [these terms] used in a manner other than this[gurative and metaphorical one], without any disguise ( talb ; s) or forgery ( tadl ; s)occurring in them.

58 i.e. the Qur 8:n.59 at : bi-Bar ;ALQ : il: Bar ;AS60 at : S acr. LQ : il: S61 i.e. the sayings attributed to the Prophet and popular stories.62 al-yad wa-l-wajh SL: al-wajh wa-l-yad Q63

On the various anthropomorphisms of the Qur 8:n and the E ad ;th andtheir interpretations in Islamic theology, see the authoritative study of D.Gimaret, Dieu a limage de lhomme: Les Anthropomorphismes de la Sunna et leur interpre tation par les the ologiens (Paris: Cerf, 1997).

64 i.e. the context.65 naAw . . . musta 6:ra SL: hiya musta 6mala isti 6:rat an wa Q true, they are

used guratively and 66 q: la SQ : L67 anna SQ : wa L. The sequencing of the last two sentences, as proposed in

S and seemingly understood by Ibn Taymiyya, could be corrupted. In L, becauseof the two textual differences just reported, these sentences are formulated in the

following way: and the direction [followed by] the textual expression indicatewhen [these terms] are used guratively and metaphorically, and indicate whenthey are used non-metaphorically and non-guratively but rather in their real



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[God]s words in the shadows of the clouds 68 and Are they waiting fornothing less than that the angels come to them, or your Lord come, or some of the signs of your Lord come? (Q. 6. 158) are of the type [just] mentioned. Now,estimative [faculties] ( wahm )69 do not at all believe, about analogous [passages],that [the] way they are expressed ( 6ib: ra ) is gurative or metaphorical. Therefore,if [making the crowd understand] such a [gurative or metaphorical character]about these [passages] was wanted implicitly ( i@ m: r an ), [God] will have agreed tothe occurrence of error, of uncertainty, 70 and of a creed distorted by [the crowds]explicit faith in their outer [meaning].

As for His words the hand of God is above their hands (Q. 48. 10) and Hiswords that [ 14 ] I was unmindful towards God (Q. 39. 56), these are passages[in which there is] gurativeness, metaphor, and speaking in a loose way. Nottwo among the Arabs speaking pure Arabic would have any doubt about that,and it is not dubious for anyone knowledgeable about their language, as is the

case with those [rst] examples. [Of] these [last] examples, there is nouncertainty that they are gurative 71 and metaphorical. Likewise, about those[rst] ones, there is no uncertainty that they are not gurative and that nothingelse is meant by them than [their] outer [meaning].

Moreover, let us admit that all these [passages] are to be taken 72 guratively.Where [then, however,] are the taw A; d and the textual expression openlypointing to the pure taw A; d to which, [in its] true essence ( Aaq ; qa), thisvaluable 73 religionwhose sublimity is acknowledged through the tongues of allthe sages of the worldcalls?

[On Islams superiority, Avicenna] also74

said, in the course of what hewas talking about: 75

. The Law that has come through the tongue of our Prophet [ 15 ]Mu Aammad, God bless him and grant him peace, 76 has come up with the

68 See Q. 2. 210: Are they waiting for nothing less than that God shouldcome unto them in the shadows of the clouds, and the angels?

69 On the nature and functions of the estimative faculty according toAvicenna, see Y. Michot, Destine e, 14852. In animals, the estimative faculty

is the equivalent of the intellect for man. It remains the supreme judge in thepsyche of the great number of humans who do not reach the level of intellectuality.

70 al-shubha SL: al-tashb ;h Q71 musta 6:ra S: isti6:riyya L isti6:ra Q72 ma8kh


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most eminent 77 and the most perfect [things] that Laws could possibly come upwith. It was therefore right for it to be the Seal of the Laws and the last of thereligions ( milla ).

. And where is there, he said, 78 a text pointing ( ish: ra) to the subtle ( daq ; q)ideas pointing to 79 the science of taw A; d ? For example the [idea] that [God] isknowing by essence or knowing by a knowledge, powerful by essence orpowerful by a power, one in essence despite the multiplicity of [His] attributes orsubject to multiplicityexalted is He far above that from all points of viewoccupying space ( muta Aayyiz) in essence or exempted from positions. 80

Inevitable indeed is [this alternative]: either it is necessary to acquire a trueunderstanding ( taAaqquq ) of these ideas and to master the true doctrineconcerning them, or it is permissible to turn away from them and to neglectinvestigating [them] and reecting about them.

If[, however,] investigating these [ideas] is something one can dispense with,and if an erroneous creed occurring about them is something one is not to becensured for, most of the doctrine of these people who speak of this whole thingis something they burden themselves with and of which one is in no need. If[, onthe other hand, such an investigation] is a rm obligation, it should necessarily besomething openly stated in the Law, not something stated in a cryptic or dubiousmanner, or about which [God] would have limited Himself to [ 16 ] [some]allusion and indication, but [rather] something stated in an exhaustivedeclaration, to which attention would have been drawn [by the revelation] andwhich would have fullled the conditions for being clear and making [things]

obvious, as well as for making [people] understand81

and know its signications.Now, the outstanding people who spend their days, their nights, and the hours of their lives in exercising their minds, sharpening 82 their wits, and raising 83 theirsouls to grasp abstruse ideas quickly are in need, in order to understand these[theological] ideas, of [some] extra elucidation 84 and explanation of textualexpressions. How, [a fortiori, will things be] for the jabbering Hebrews and thenomads among the Arabs?

By my life! if God charged one of the Messengers with communicating the truemeanings ( Aaq :8iq) of such matters to the crowdthe commonalty of thicknature and whose estimative [faculties] are attached to things that are perceptiblepurely through the sensesthen imposed upon him to obtain from them faithand adherence, without negligence on his part in this matter, then 85 imposedupon him to undertake the training of the souls of all the people so that they

77 bi-af @al L: af @al SQ78 Avicenna, A@Aawiyya , 53, l. 661, l. 3; trans. Lucchetta, Epistola , 5260.79 al-mush ;ra SQ : al-mustanida L ideas founded on the80 Allusion to the doctrinal divergences opposing Mu 6tazil ; and Ash 6ar ;

theologies.81 wa-l-tafh ;m SL: Q [ people ] know82

tadhkiya SL: tazkiya Q purifying 83 tarsh ;A SL: tars ;kh Q deeply rooting 84 ;@:ASL: bay: n Q evidence



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become ready to grasp these [true meanings], He would be charging him with anexcessive burden and forcing him to do something which is not in the power of humans. My God! [this would be the situation] unless [some] divine propertyseizes them, 86 [some] superior power and [some] heavenly inspiration; [ 17 ] inwhich case the mediation of the Messenger could be dispensed with and therewould be no need for his delivery of [the divine message].

Moreover, let us admit that the precious Book came 87 according to thelanguage of the Arabs and their linguistic habit 88 of [practising] gurativenessand metaphor. What are they 89 then going to say about the Hebrew Book whichis entirely, from its beginning to its end, pure assimilationism? One will not beable to say that that Book is entirely falsied. Indeed, how would one falsify theentirety of a book that is propagated in innumerable communities whosecountries are far away 90 from each other, whose estimative [faculties] are distinctfrom each other, and among whom there are Jews and Nazarenes, who are two

communities hostile towards each other?It appears from all this that the Laws come to address the crowd about thingsthat they understand, bringing things that they do not understand closer to theirestimative [faculties] by striking likenesses ( tamth ; l ) and similitudes ( tashb ; h). If matters were otherwise, the Laws would be of no use at all.. How then, [Avicenna] said, 91 will the outer meaning of the Laws be anargument in this matter?he means: concerning the return. If we weresupposing the hereafter matters to be spiritual, not made corporeal, [and] theirtrue essence to be [ 18 ] far from being perceived a priori by the minds ( bad :8ih al-adhh : n), the way [followed by] the Laws to call [people] to [accept] these[spiritual matters] and to warn about them would not consist in drawing theirattention by furnishing evidence about them but, rather, 92 by expressing themthrough various likenesses ( tamth ; l ) that would bring [them] closer to the[ir] wits(fahm ). How then will the existence of one thing 93 be an argument in favour of the existence of another thing 94 when, if this other thing was not as it is supposedto be, 95 the rst thing would [still] be as it is?

All this is said to make known, to somebody wanting to be [a member of] theelite (kh :BB) of humans, not of the commonalty ( 6:mm), that the outer meaningof the Laws cannot be used as an argument in matters like these.

86 tudrika-hum S: yudrika-hu L tudrika-hu Q him87 al-6az;z j:8iyan S: al-6arab ; j:8iyan L al-6arab ; j:8a Q the Arabic Book came88 6:da SL: 6ib: ra Q and the way they linguistically express themselves,

guratively and metaphorically.89 i.e. the anti-literalist theologians.90 mutan :8iyya SL: mutab : yina Q distinct 91 Avicenna, A@Aawiyya , 61, l. 463, l. 4; trans. Lucchetta, Epistola , 602.92 munabbih an . . . bal SL: ill: Q them would consist in nothing else than

expressing 93 i.e. the literality of the Qur 8:nic statements concerning the hereafter.94 i e a corporeal hereafter

ibn taymiyya on av icennas R I S 2 L A A DE AWIYYA 177


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[I. AVICENNAS HERMENEUTICS ]

I96 say: these are the words of Avicenna. These words and similar onesare [also] the words of his likethe Qarma 3;s,97 the esotericists 98

(b:3 iniyya ), for example the author of The Keys of Sovereignty 99

(al-Aq : l ; d al-malak


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invocations. Nothing goes up to Him and nothing is sent down fromHim, neither an angel nor anything else. Nobody is brought closer toHim and nothing approaches Him. Himself does not get closer toanybody and He does not manifest Himself ( tajall : ) to anything. There is

no veil between Him and His creatures. He does not love and He does notdetest. He is not content and He is not angry. He is neither inside noroutside the world. He is neither distinct from the world nor inhering in it.None of the creatures has the privilege of being near Him; rather, thewhole creation is near Him, [which is] opposed to His saying, exalted isHe: To Him belong those who are in the heavens and on the earth, andthose who are near Him (Q. 21. 19). When He is given the namesliving, knowing, powerful, hearing, seeing, He is living withouta life, knowing without a knowledge, powerful without a power,

hearing ( sam ;6) without a hearing ( sam6), seeing without a sight . . . andother similar things whose denial the Jahm ;s call taw A; d . They give tothemselves the title of adepts of taw A; d as the Jahm ;sthe Mu 6tazil ;sand othersgive it to themselves and as Ibn [ 20 ] T


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T


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heresy. 110 It is said, in this respect, that Ibn T


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[however] an appellation which the Jahm ; deniers had innovated andabout which the Book 113 did not talk, nor the [Prophetic] Tradition(sunna ), nor any of the Ancients ( salaf ) and of the im : ms. The adepts of the afrmation [of the divine attributes] have, on the contrary, made

clear that taw A; d cannot be achieved but by afrming the attributes andworshipping God alone, Him having no associate, as the exalted Godhas reminded [us] in the chapter 114 The Devotion (Q. 112) and in theverses of the Qur 8:n generally.

As these Jahm ;sthe Mu 6tazil ;s and the otherswere agreed with[Avicenna] on denying the attributes and [saying] that this is the truetaw A; d , he used as an argument against them the dialectic premisssaying this: the Messengers have not made clear ( bayyana ) what thetruth is in itself, as far as knowing [how] to proclaim the oneness

(taw A; d ) of the exalted God and knowing the Last Day are concerned;they have not mentioned what it is that is right or necessary, for theelite of the sons of Adam and for those among them who have wits, tounderstand, to comprehend, and to know of this matter; the Book, theTradition, and the consensus will not be used as arguments concerningfaith in God and in the Last Day, nor about the creation and theresurrection, nor about the origin and the return; the divine Booksprovide only an imaginal representation ( takhy ; l ) from which thecommonalty benets, not a true realization ( taAq; q) that would providescience and knowledge. The greatest of the sciences, the most sublimeand the noblest, which consists in knowing God, the Messengers havefundamentally not made it clear ( bayyana ), they have not talked aboutit, and they have not guided the creatures towards it. On the contrary,what they have made clear, it is not the knowledge of God, nor theknowledge of the return, nor something which would be the truth asfar as faith in God is concerned, nor something that would be the truthso far as faith in the Last Day is concerned; even, according to these[people], in the words of God and of His Messenger concerning thismatter, there is no science from which those who have wits wouldbenet; in these [words] there are only imaginal ( takhy ; l ) and esti-mative representations ( ; h: m) from which the ignorant ones of thecommonalty benet. 115

This being what the Qarma 3; and esotericist ( b:3 iniyya ) hereticsreally say, they began to consider one of their leaders as equivalent to

113 i.e. the Qur 8:n.114

s


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the Messenger, or as more important than the Messenger, and theyallowed him to abrogate [ 22 ] the Law of Mu Aammad, God bless himand grant him peace; so did they maintain that Mu Aammad, 116 son of Ism:6;l, son of Ja6far, had abrogated his Law. Each of these people also

began to claim to be a prophet and a Messenger, or, had there been no[threat of punishment by the] sword, would have wanted to declare itopenly as al-Suhraward ;117 the one who was killeddid. He didindeed use to say: I will not die until it is said to me: Rise, and

and reductionism ( ta63; l ) that are in agreement with their doctrine. As for thepractical Legal obligations, they do not deny them as the Qarma 3;s deny them.On the contrary, they make them compulsory for the commonalty and make

some of them compulsory for the elite, or do not make that compulsory. They saythat the Messengers, in what they told and commanded, did not come up withthe real truths of matters but came up with something in which there is a benet(Bal :A) for the commonalty even if, in reality, it is a lie. This is why each prattler(mub 3 il ) chose to come up with uncommon deeds ( makh : r; q) [supposedly]destined to benet the commonalty. So did Ibn T


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warn! 118 As for Ibn Sab 6;n, he used to say: The son of Am ;na wasinsolent ( zarraba ) when he said: [There will be] no prophet after me!It is said that he used to stay in the cave of E ir:8119 so that revelationwould come down upon him there. Ibn 6Arab ;120 claimed [for himself]

something that, according to him, was even more important thanprophethood, that is, the sealing of sainthood ( wal : ya).121 [23 ]According to him, the seal of the saints ( kh : tam al-awliy :8) is moreeminent than the Seal of the prophets as far as knowing God isconcerned. He used to say that all the prophets and the Messengersbenet from the Niche of this seal claiming to know God, [aknowledge] whose reality is [in fact] the unicity of existence, whichmeans the reduction ( ta63; l ) of the Artisan, praised is He, [to nothing],and which is the secret meaning of what Pharaoh said. 122 The im : ms

naq @ kal : m al-Sh;6at al-qadariyya , ed. M. R. S : lim, 9 vols. (Cairo: Maktabat IbnTaymiyya, 1409/1989), viii. 24950). On al-Suhraward ;s questioning of theMu Aammadan sealing of prophecy, his own claims to prophethood, their partlypolitical character and the role they played in his condemnation to death bySaladin, see J. Walbridge, Leaven , 20110.

118 See Q. 74. 2.119 The Mountain of Light ( jabal al-n


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of the Qarma 3;s and of the Ism :6;l;s, like Ibn al- 4abb :A,123 learned thepillars of [their] missionary propaganda ( da6wa ) from al-Mus-tan Bir124 the one of their caliphs who reigned the longest and inwhose time al-Bas : s;r;s sedition (tna ) took place 125 and his like.

They, Sin : n,126

and his like among the heretics, supported each otherin order to make indelity appear among their companions. We permitto you, they said, everything you desiresex, meat, drinkand weabrogate the acts of worship ( 6ib: d : t ). You do not have to fast, nor topray, nor to go on pilgrimage, nor to give alms. 127 [24 ]

[Second refutation ]This argument, which those heretics use against the deniers [of the divineattributes] in order to establish their heresy, is among the arguments

[that can be used] against them by the adepts of the afrmation [of theseattributes] in order to establish their faith. 128

God, praised is He, has told [us] that He sent His Messenger with theguidance and the religion of the Real, to cause it to prevail over all

123 E asan-i 4abb :A, Ism:6;l; propagandist and rst Niz : r; master of Alam


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religion (Q. 9. 33). He also said, exalted is He: A Book which We havesent down to you that you may make mankind come out from thedarkness unto the light, by the permission of their Lord (Q. 14. 1). Healso said, exalted is He: From God have come to you a light and a

manifest Book whereby God guides whomever seeks His agreementon the paths of peace, makes them come out from the darkness unto thelight by His permission, and guides them to a straight way (Q. 5. 156).He also said, exalted is He: And so have We revealed to you a spirit[participating] of Our command. You did not know what the Book was,nor what the faith. But We made it a light whereby We guide whom Wewill of Our servants. You verily do guide to a straight way; the way of God, to Whom belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever isin the earth (Q. 42. 523). He also said, exalted is He: Alif. L : m. M ;m.This is the Book, whereof there is no doubt, a guidance for those whofear [God] (Q. 2. 12). He also said, exalted is He: We have sent downthe Book to you, as a [way] to make everything clear (Q. 16. 89). He alsosaid, exalted is He: but a conrmation of the previous [Scriptures] and adetailed explanation of everything (Q. 12. 111). He also said, exaltedis He: A proof from your Lord has come to you and We have sentdown to you a light that makes [everything] clear (Q. 4. 174). He alsosaid, exalted is He: Those who have faith in him, and honour him, andhelp him, and follow the light which was sent down with him, theseare the successful ones (Q. 7. 157). [ 25 ] He also said, exalted is He:The Messenger is only to convey [the message] that makes [everything]clear (Q. 29. 18). He also said, exalted is He: And We have sent downto you the Remembrance, that you may make clear to mankind thatwhich had been sent down to them (Q. 16. 44). He also said, exaltedis He: This day, I have perfected for you your religion (Q. 5. 3). Healso said, exalted is He: God would not lead a folk astray afterHe had guided them until He had made clear to them what they shouldfear (Q. 9. 115).

Similar texts make clear that the Messenger guided the creatures, wasexplicit ( bayyana ) with them, and made them come out from thedarkness unto the light, not that he disguised [things] ( labbasa ) in regardto them and used imaginal representations ( khayyala ), concealed thetruth, did not make it clear ( bayyana ), and did not guide towards it,neither as far as the elite is concerned, nor as far as the commonalty isconcerned. It is indeed known that the Messenger, God bless him andgrant him peace, did not speak with anybody about things contradictingthat which he was making apparent to people. The elite of hisCompanions were not believing about him the contrary of that whichhe was making apparent to people. Rather, each [person] who had a



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circumstances was more in agreement with him and assenting more tohim about that which he was making apparent and was making clear. If the truth, inwardly ( b:3 in), was the opposite of that which he madeapparent, this would necessarily follow: either he was ignorant of it 129 or

he was concealing it from the elite and the commonalty and making itsopposite apparent to the elite and the commonalty. 130

Now, each [person] who is knowledgeable about the [Prophets]Sunna and his biography knows that what is related at variance withthis is a fabrication and a lie. [It is the case,] for example, with thatwhich some R : @;s131 mention about 6Al;,132 that is, that he had withhim a special, esoteric science that was at variance with these outward[teachings of the Prophet]. [ 26 ] Now it is established in the authentictraditions, whose authenticity knowledgeable people do not dispute,

that when it was said to 6Al;, may God be pleased with him, Have youreceived a book from the Messenger of God, God bless him andgrant him peace?, he said: No! by Him Who made the grain splitand created the soul, the Messenger of God, God bless him and granthim peace, did not tell us as a secret anything that he would haveconcealed from others, except [some] understanding which God givesto the servant concerning His Book and that which is in this document,that is, the regulations of bloodmoney, the release of the captives, and

129 Earlier in the Dar 8, Ibn Taymiyya attributes such an afrmation to a sub-subgroup of the followers of what he calls the hermeneutical way of replacement ( tabd ; l ) of the outward meaning of the Scripture: those who notonly claim that the revelation offers to the estimative faculties ( wahm ) of peopleimaginal representations ( takhy ; l ) having no relation, or even opposed, to thereality, but add that the Prophet ignored the reality. Al-F : r: b;, Mubashshirb. F: tik, Ibn 6Arab ;, and other thinkers judging philosophers superior to prophetsare, for him, representative of this trend; see the text translated in Y. Michot,Lettre , 213.

130

This is the position of another sub-subgroup of the followers of the wayof replacement: those who also speak of wahm and takhy ; l about the Scripturebut say that the Prophet knew the reality. Avicenna and his like, who considerprophets superior to philosophers, are representative of this trend; see the texttranslated in Y. Michot, Lettre , 213. Ibn Taymiyya could have includedAb< Ya6q


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that no Muslim should be killed for an indel. 133 [One also nds] inthe 4aA;A,134 in [another] formulation: Did the Messenger of God,God bless him and grant him peace, entrust to you something which hehas not entrusted to the people?No, he said, by Him Who made

the grain split and created the soul . . . and [the rest of] the Aad ; th .There is a consensus of the people possessing the knowledge of the[religious] tradition ( manq


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words on the stars and on the quivering of the limbs, 138 falsiedcommentaries [on the Qur 8:n], and various vain things from which Godexculpates him. One of their leaders has even maintained that theEpistles of the Ikhw : n al-4af : 139 were his words, although they were

only composed after the third century, when Cairo was built. [ 27 ] Agroup of philosophers composed them and mentioned in them events[relating] to Islam which happened after the second centuryforexample the entry of the Nazarenes into the countries of Islam, 140

etc.and which make clear that they were composed about twohundred years after Ja 6far. Of this sort is also that which others reportabout 6Umar 141 , may God be pleased with him, that is, that he said: TheProphet, God bless him and grant him peace, and Ab < Bakr 142 werespeaking and I was like a negro between them. 143 This [report] and

similar ones are fabricated lies, according to the unanimous agreement of the knowledgeable people. The heretical ascetics and devotees, and thoseignorant ones among them, narrate a variety of such things. For

138 See Ibn Taymiyya, MF , trans. Michot, Astrology , 175. 6Ilm al-ikhtil : jis palmomancy, the science of pulsations, whose purpose is to drawprognostications from the pulsations that spontaneously occur on all the partsof the human body. The most famous Arabic treatise on palmomancy isattributed to Ja 6far al- 4: diq, who is said to have introduced this foreignscience into Islam; see T. Fahd, La Divination arabe (Paris: Sindbad, 1987),397402.

139 Gnostic philosophical society of the 4th/10th c., possibly involved ina secret underground movement subversive to the 6Abb : sid Caliphate(A. Hamdani, Brethren of Purity, a Secret Society for the Establishment of the F:3imid Caliphate: New Evidence for the Early Dating of theirEncyclopdia, in M. Barrucand (ed.), LE gypte fatimide, son art et son histoire(Paris: Presses de lUniversite de Paris-Sorbonne, 1999), 79); see Y. Marquet, EI 2 ,s.v. Ikhw : n al-4af :8; Ibn Taymiyya, MF , trans. Michot, Musique , 78. IbnTaymiyya expresses a similar opinion on the dating of the Ras :8il in MF ,

trans. Michot,Astrology

, 1767. On the unsolved question of the date of the composition of the Ras :8il , see A. Hamdani, Brethren , who argues for adating as early as the period between 260/873 and 297/909. Ibn Taymiyyasopinion in favour of a date some 60 years later does not seem to have beentaken into consideration in this debate.

140 This is not an allusion to the Crusades but to the military successes of theByzantine Nicephorus Phocas and John Tzimisces over the E amd : nids of Aleppoafter 350/961. Cairo was built by the F :3imids in 358/969.

141 6Umar Ibn al-Kha 33:b, the second caliph (d. 23/644); see G. Levi DellaVida, EI 2 , s.v. 6Omar ibn al-Kha 33:b.

142 The rst caliph (d. 13/634); see W. Montgomery Watt, EI 2 , s.v. Ab

a mamluk theologian's commentary on avicenna's risala adhawiyya - y. michot

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