Including:
101-672: Jahmiyya is a term used by Islamic scholars to refer to the followers of the doctrines of Jahm bin Safwan (d. 128/746). The Jahmiyya particularly came to be remembered for advocating for the denial or negation of God's divine attributes (known as the doctrine of taʿṭīl ) as a product of their extreme beliefs regarding affirming God's transcendentness from limits , potentially following late antique Neoplatonist currents. Jahm and those associated with his theological creed appear as prominent heretics in Sunni heresiography , and to be called
202-528: A Kafir (a disbeliever). Like Muqatil, Uthman bin Sa'id himself received criticism and there have been scholars who have criticised him as going to the opposite extreme to Jahm, being a Mujassim (anthropomorphist). In particular the Sunni Hadith scholar and ascetic al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi (d. ~280 H) wrote a response to him. Many Hadith scholars wrote refutations of Jahm bin Ṣafwān's doctrines, particularly
303-522: A Jahmi became an insult or polemic, especially with respect to proponents of Ash'arism , who were called Jahmiyya on account of the accusation of fatalism and denial of God's attributes by Ibn Taymiyya and his followers, positions they say originated with Jahm. The term has also been used to pejoratively label Mu'tazilites . The views of Jahm and his followers are rejected by the four schools of thought in Sunni Islam and are not accepted across
404-479: A contentious figure with many rulers and scholars of the time, which caused him to be imprisoned several times as a result. A polarizing figure in his own times and the centuries that followed, Ibn Taymiyya has emerged as one of the most influential medieval scholars in late modern Sunni Islam. He is also noteworthy for engaging in fierce religious polemics that attacked various schools of speculative theology , primarily Ash'arism and Maturidism , while defending
505-528: A general authorization for the use of lethal force against Muslims in battle", and would later influence modern-day Jihadists in their use of violence against other Muslims whom they deemed as apostates. In his legal verdicts issued to inform the populace, Ibn Taymiyya classified the Tatars and their advocates into four types: Ibn Taymiyya called on the Muslims to jihad once again and personally participated in
606-633: A land of faith and sunna until the descent of the Prophet Jesus ." Despite political pressure, Ibn Taymiyya's directives were heeded by the Mamluk officer and Mongol negotiations to surrender the Citadel stalled. Shortly after, Ibn Taymiyya and a number of his acolytes and pupils took part in a counter-offensive targeting various Shia tribes allied to the Mongols in the peripheral regions of
707-423: A man who divorces the same partner three times is no longer allowed to remarry that person until and if that person marries and divorces another person. Only then could the man, who took the oath, remarry his previous wife. Ibn Taymiyya accepted this but rejected the validity of three oaths taken under one sitting to count as three separate divorces as long as the intention was not to divorce. Moreover, Ibn Taymiyya
808-661: A pre-requisite in seeking religious truth. As a cleric who viewed Shiasm as a source of corruption in Muslim societies, Ibn Taymiyya was also known for his anti-Shia polemics throughout treatises such as Minhaj al-Sunna , wherein he denounced the Imami Shia creed as heretical . He issued a ruling to wage jihad against the Shias of Kisrawan and personally fought in the Kisrawan campaigns himself, accusing Shias of acting as
909-597: A profound influence on Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab , the founder of the Wahhabism reform movement formed in the Arabian Peninsula, as well as other later Sunni scholars. Syrian Salafi theologian Muhammad Rashid Rida , one of the major modern proponents of Ibn Taymiyya's works, designated him as the Mujaddid of the 7th Islamic century . Ibn Taymiyya's doctrinal positions, such as his excommunication of
1010-453: A reference to a set of attributes. The Jahmiyya believed that God was incomparable to anything, and so people should avoid ascribing any properties or qualities to God since this was beyond human knowledge and such claims, in fact, constitute innovation in religious matters ( Bid'ah ) and so should be rejected. Since the advent of Jahmiyya, this tendency has been the subject of criticism by many prominent representatives of Sunni Islam . Some of
1111-532: A rival movement to the Jahmiyyah known as the Muqatiliyyah, and Sunni Muslims have identified themselves as being between what they view as two extremes (negation and likening of the divine attributes, Ta'til and Tasbih). Muqatil himself was condemned by scholars of his time like Abu Hanifah and Makki ibn Ibrahim (the teacher of al-Bukhari ). Abu Hanifah (d. 150 H) also harshly criticised Jahm and this
SECTION 10
#17328014550131212-579: A title which Ghazan took to legitimise his military campaigns, Ibn Taymiyya denounced him as an "infidel king" and issued numerous fatwas condemning the political order of the Tatars. The Ilkhanate army managed to defeat the Mamluk Sultanate in The Third Battle of Homs and reach Damascus by the end of December 1299. Fearful of Mongol atrocities, many scholars, intellectuals and officers began to flee Damascus in panic. Ibn Taymiyya
1313-686: A year later on January 22 and 28, 1306. The first council was in the house of the Governor of Damascus Aqqush al-Afram, who had protected him the year before when facing the Shafii scholars. A second hearing was held six days later where the Indian scholar Safi al-Din al-Hindi found him innocent of all charges and accepted that his creed was in line with the "Qur'an and the Sunnah". Regardless, in April 1306
1414-456: Is difficult, as they are reproduced (in an abbreviated form) only in later polemical works that are impossible to verify. However, it is said that he taught that only a few attributes can be predicated to God, such as creation, divine power and action, whilst others such as speech cannot. Therefore, he believed that it was wrong to talk about the eternal word of the Qur'an, since God (according to Jahm)
1515-406: Is not a speaker in the first place. Jahm was a proponent of extreme determinism, according to which a man acts only metaphorically in the same way in which the sun is said to set: according to Jahm, this is a linguistic convention rather than an accurate description, as it is actually God that makes the sun set. Jahm's doctrines about God and the attributes of God were taken up in criticisms of
1616-432: Is qualified) and discouraged taqlid . Ibn Taymiyya had a simple life, most of which he dedicated to learning, writing, and teaching. He never married nor did he have a female companion throughout his years. Professor Al-Matroudi stated that this may be why he was able to engage fully with the political affairs of his time without holding any official position such as that of a qadi . An offer of an official position
1717-477: Is the result of the selective and out-of-context use of some of his writings by fundamentalist movements. While he sometimes held radical positions, Ibn Taymiyya criticized certain practices or ideas he considered deviations, yet he acknowledged that Sufism is an integral part of Islam and praised many Sufi masters. It was even claimed that he himself was affiliated with the Qadiriyya order. Ibn Taymiyya
1818-469: Is the same as theirs, and they have apostatized from the laws [ sharāʾiʿ ]. If the righteous forbears [ salaf ] have called the withholders from charity apostates despite their fasting, praying, and not fighting the Muslims, how about those who became murderers of the Muslims with the enemies of Allah and His Messenger?" The fatwa broke new Islamic legal ground because "no jurist had ever before issued
1919-505: Is uncreated and necessarily exists, is the only incorporeal and immaterial cause. Furthermore, according to Jahm, composite incorporeal and immaterial things do not exist. In the matter of predestination , the Jahmis adhere to the belief that a person does not have free will and is forced into their actions. The Jahmiyya believed this because they thought that human free will would entail a limitation on God's power, and so must be rejected. On
2020-563: The Battle of Marj al-Saffar against the Ilkhanid army; leading his disciples in the field with a sword. The battle began on April 20 of that year. On the same day, Ibn Taymiyya declared a fatwa which exempted Mamluk soldiers from fasting during Ramadan so that they could preserve their strength. Within two days the Mongols were severely crushed and the battle was won; thus ending Mongol control of Syria. These incidents greatly increased
2121-788: The Jahmiyya moniker. During his lifetime, he attached himself to the rebel leader Al-Harith ibn Surayj , a dissident in Khurasan . He was executed in 745 by Salm ibn Ahwaz . Reliable historical information about Jahm is sparse, coming from sources antagonistic towards him from later periods. Jahm was a client of the Banu Rāseb tribe. He was born in Kufa , but settled down in Khurāsān in Tirmidh . He learned under al-Ja'd b. Dirham . Ja'd b. Dirham
SECTION 20
#17328014550132222-482: The Mu'tazila , who were sometimes called Jahmites by their adversaries. The Mu'tazila believed that the Qur'ān was created , a tenet which agreed with Jahm's recorded view. Jahm left no writings, but many Muslim scholars wrote about his doctrines and a few modern scholars have written studies of him. Muqatil ibn Sulayman , an early commentator on the Qur'an who Sunni Muslims view as the polar opposite of Jahm who went to
2323-606: The Muslim world and called for their revolutionary overthrowal through armed Jihad . Ibn Taymiyya was a fervent polemicist who zealously launched theological refutations against various religious sects such as the Sufis , Jahmites , Ash'arites , Shias , Falsafa , etc., labelling them as heretics responsible for the crisis of Mongol invasions across the Islamic World . He was imprisoned several times for conflicting with
2424-464: The fifth-columnists of the Frank Crusaders and Mongol Ilkhanids. Within recent history, Ibn Taymiyya has been widely regarded as a major scholarly influence in militant Islamist movements, such as Salafi jihadism . Major aspects of his teachings, such as upholding the pristine monotheism of the early Muslim generations and campaigns to uproot what he regarded as polytheism , had
2525-655: The Şanlıurfa Province . At the beginning of the Islamic period, Harran was located in Diyar Mudar , the land of the Mudar tribe. Before its destruction by the Mongols , Harran was also well-known since the early days of Islam for its tradition of adhering to the Hanbali school, to which Ibn Taymiyya's family belonged. His grandfather, Majd al-Din ibn Taymiyya , and his uncle, Fakhr al-Din, were both reputable scholars of
2626-739: The Alawites and the Isma`ilis in the Kasrawan region of the Lebanese mountains where they were defeated. The majority of the Alawis and Ismailis eventually converted to Twelver Shiism and settled in south Lebanon and the Bekaa valley, with a few Shia pockets that survived in the Lebanese mountains. The first invasion took place between December 1299 and April 1300 due to the military campaign by
2727-405: The Alawites were "more heretical than Jews and Christians", and according to Carole Hillenbrand, the confrontation with the Alawites occurred because they "were accused of collaborating with Christians and Mongols." Ibn Taymiyya had further active involvements in campaigns against the Mongols and their alleged Alawite allies. In 1305, Ibn Taymiyya took part in a second military offensive against
2828-467: The Arabic language and literature by studying Arabic grammar and lexicography under Ali ibn Abd al-Qawi al-Tufi. He went on to master the famous book of Arabic grammar al-Kitab , written by the grammarian Sibawayhi . He also studied mathematics, algebra, calligraphy, speculative theology, philosophy, history, and heresiography. With the knowledge he gained from history and philosophy, he set to refute
2929-662: The Christians of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia who formed an alliance with the Mongol Empire and participated in the military campaign which lead to the destruction of Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate , and the destruction of Harran, the birthplace of Ibn Taymiyya, for that purpose, he urged Ibn Taymiyya to call the Muslims to Jihad. In 1298, Ibn Taymiyya wrote his explanation for
3030-530: The Governor of Damascus, Al-Afram. His book Al-Aqidah Al-Waasitiyyah was still not found at fault. At the conclusion of this hearing, Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn al-Sarsari were sent to Cairo to settle the problem. On the arrival of Ibn Taymiyya and the Shafi'ite scholar in Cairo in 1306, an open meeting was held. The Mamluk sultan at the time was Al-Nasir Muhammad and his deputy attended the open meeting. Ibn Taymiyya
3131-482: The Governor of Syria attempted to resolve the situation by asking Assaf to accept Islam in return for his life, to which he agreed. This resolution was not acceptable to Ibn Taymiyya who then, together with his followers, protested against it outside the governor's palace, demanding that Assaf be put to death, on the grounds that any person—Muslim or non-Muslim—who insults Muhammad must be killed. His unwillingness to compromise, coupled with his attempt to protest against
Jahmiyya - Misplaced Pages Continue
3232-525: The Hanbali school, and their scholarly achievements well-known. In 1269, Ibn Taymiyya, aged seven, left Harran together with his father and three brothers; however, the city was completely destroyed by the ensuing Mongol invasion. Ibn Taymiyya's family moved and settled in Damascus , Syria, which was ruled by the Mamluk Sultanate at the time. In Damascus, his father served as the director of
3333-536: The Jahmiyya, he may have never met Jahm and even criticized him in one of his works. No writings from either authors have survived, and information about their views relies on short summaries produced by other authors, primarily their opponents. Another famous preacher of Jahmi views was Bishr al-Marisi (d. 833), at the beginning of the 9th century, Jahmites acted in Nehavend , but some of them were forced to accept
3434-527: The Maliki and Shafi'i Chief Justices of Damascus, Taḳī al-Dīn al-Ikhnāʾī. He remained in prison for over two years and ignored the sultan's prohibition, by continuing to deliver fatwas. During his incarceration Ibn Taymiyya wrote three works which are extant; Kitāb Maʿārif al-wuṣūl, Rafʿ al-malām , and Kitāb al-Radd ʿala 'l-Ikhnāʾī (The response to al-Ikhnāʾī). The last book was an attack on Taḳī al-Dīn al-Ikhnāʾī and explained his views on saints (wali). When
3535-561: The Mamluks against the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia who were allied with the Mongols. Due to the Mongol legal system that neglected sharia and implemented Yassa ; Ibn Taymiyya had declared Takfir upon the Ilkhanid regime and its armies for ruling by man-made laws , despite these laws being rarely enforced in Muslim majority regions in an extensive manner. Openly rejecting Ghazan Khan 's claim to " pādishāh al-islām " (King of Islam),
3636-542: The Mongol Ilkhanids and allowing jihad against other Muslims, were referenced by later Islamist political movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood , Hizb ut-Tahrir , al-Qaeda , and Islamic State , to justify social uprisings against the contemporary governments of the Muslim world . Ibn Taymiyya paradoxically has an anti-Sufi reputation, although this is inaccurate. This false reputation
3737-507: The Mongol attack on the Malmuk sultanate was not only permissible, but obligatory . The reason being that the Mongols could not, in his opinion, be true Muslims despite the fact that they had converted to Sunni Islam because they ruled using what he considered 'man-made laws' (their traditional Yassa code) rather than Islamic law or Sharia , whilst believing that the Yassa code was better than
3838-410: The Mongols invaded Syria in 1300, he was among those who called for a Jihad against them and he ruled that even though they had recently converted to Islam, they should be considered unbelievers. He went to Egypt in order to acquire support for his cause and while he was there, he got embroiled in religious-political disputes. Ibn Taymiyya's enemies accused him of advocating anthropomorphism , a view that
3939-831: The Other Islamic Sects." Ibn al-Mubarak criticized the Jahmiyya rejection of free will in his poetry, and his anti-Jahmi poetry was cited by al-Bukhari . In particular, he argued that this rejection would imply that evil figures could not be blamed for the actions that they performed. Therefore, the actions of Pharaoh and Haman could not really be imputed onto them. Not only this, but their moral character and actions would have to be placed alongside figures such as Moses , since all of their actions have been predetermined. The label "Jahmiyya" came to be used as an insult due to its negative connotations. For example, Abu Hanifa and Muhammad al-Shaybani were derogatorily labelled as Jahmis by their opponents. Ibn Taymiyya assigned
4040-689: The Pilgrimage), in which he criticized and condemned the religious innovations he saw take place there. Ibn Taymiyya represented the Hanbali school of thought during this time. The Hanbali school was seen as the most traditional school out of the four legal systems ( Hanafi , Maliki and Shafi'i ) because it was "suspicious of the Hellenist disciplines of philosophy and speculative theology ." He remained faithful throughout his life to this school, whose doctrines he had mastered, but he nevertheless called for ijtihad (independent reasoning by one who
4141-526: The Sharia law. Because of this, he reasoned they were living in a state of jahiliyyah , or pre-Islamic pagan ignorance . Not only were Ilkhanate political elites and its military disbelievers in the eyes of Ibn Taymiyya; but anybody who joined their ranks were as guilty of riddah (apostasy) as them: "Whoever joins them—meaning the Tatars —among commanders of the military and non-commanders, their ruling
Jahmiyya - Misplaced Pages Continue
4242-548: The Sukkariyya Madrasa, a place where Ibn Taymiyya also received his early education. He acquainted himself with the religious and secular sciences of his time. His religious studies began in his early teens when he committed the entire Quran to memory , and later came to learn the disciplines of the Quran . From his father, he learnt the religious science of jurisprudence and its principles . Ibn Taymiyya studied
4343-699: The Sunni Hadith scholar Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 H) and his students like al-Bukhari (d. 256 H) and Abu Dawud as-Sijistani (d. 275 H). Al-Bukhari adopted the teachings of the traditionalist and scholar of Kalam Ibn Kullab alongside al-Karabisi in matters of creed, who also repudiated the Jahmiyyah. Then later Sunni Kalam theologians continued to criticise him, in particular Abu Hasan al-Ash'ari (d. 324 H) and Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (d. 333 H), and he continued to be mentioned in later Ash'ari and Maturidi heresiology works. Ibn Taymiyyah [REDACTED] Politics portal Ibn Taymiyya ( Arabic : ٱبْن تَيْمِيَّة ; 22 January 1263 – 26 September 1328)
4444-469: The Umayyad mosque. As the civilians began to flee in panic; Ibn Taymiyya pronounced fatwas declaring the religious duty upon Muslims to fight the Mongol armies to death, inflict a massive defeat and expel them from Syria in its entirety. Ibn Taymiyya also spoke to and encouraged the Governor of Damascus, al-Afram, to achieve victory over the Mongols. He became involved with al-Afram once more, when he
4545-704: The Viceroy of Syria, Tankiz. This resulted in Ibn Taymiyya being imprisoned on August 26, 1320, in the Citadel of Damascus . He was released about five months and 18 days later, on February 9, 1321, by order of the Sultan Al-Nasir. Ibn Taymiyya was reinstated as teacher of Hanbali law and he resumed teaching. In 1310, Ibn Taymiyya had written a risāla (treatise) called Ziyārat al-Qubūr or according to another source, Shadd al-rihal . It dealt with
4646-410: The age of five. One of Ibn Taymiyya's teachers was the first Hanbali Chief Justice of Syria, Shams al-Din al-Maqdisi, who held the newly created position instituted by Baibars as part of a reform of the judiciary. Al-Maqdisi later came to give Ibn Taymiyya permission to issue legal verdicts, making him a judge at the age of seventeen. Ibn Taymiyya's secular studies led him to devote attention to
4747-415: The ayat al-mutashabihat (the unclear verses of the Qur'an) titled Al-`Aqidat al-Hamawiyat al-Kubra (The creed of the great people of Hama). The book is about divine attributes and it served as an answer to a question from the city of Hama , Syria. At that particular time Ash'arites held prominent positions within the Islamic scholarly community in both Syria and Egypt, and they held a certain position on
4848-614: The book Minhaj al-Karamah ( The Way of Charisma'), which dealt with the Shia doctrine of the Imamate and also served as a refutation of the Sunni doctrine of the caliphate . In response, Ibn Taymiyya wrote his famous book, Minhaj as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah , as a refutation of Al-Hilli's work. In 1318, Ibn Taymiyya wrote a treatise that would curtail the ease with which a Muslim man could divorce his wife. Ibn Taymiyya's fatwa on divorce
4949-516: The chief Islamic judges of the Mamluk state declared Ibn Taymiyya guilty and he was incarcerated. He was released four months later in September. After his release in Damascus, the doubts regarding his creed seemed to have resolved but this was not the case. A Shafii scholar, Ibn al-Sarsari, was insistent on starting another hearing against Ibn Taymiyya which was held once again at the house of
5050-576: The city; thereby repelling the Mongol attack. Ibn Taymiyya went with a delegation of Islamic scholars to talk to Ghazan Khan , who was the Khan of the Mongol Ilkhanate of Iran, to plead clemency. By early January 1300, the Mongol allies, the Armenians and Georgians, had caused widespread damage to Damascus and they had taken Syrian prisoners. The Mongols effectively occupied Damascus for
5151-518: The divine attributes of God. Ibn Taymiyya in his book strongly disagreed with their views and this heavy opposition to the common Ash'ari position, caused considerable controversy. Once more, Ibn Taymiyya collaborated with the Mamluks in 1300, when he joined the punitive expedition against the Alawites and Shiites , in the Kasrawan region of the Lebanese mountains . Ibn Taymiyya believed that
SECTION 50
#17328014550135252-464: The doctrines of Atharism . This prompted rival clerics and state authorities to accuse Ibn Taymiyya and his disciples of anthropomorphism , which eventually led to the censoring of his works and subsequent incarceration. Nevertheless, Ibn Taymiyya's numerous treatises that advocate for al-salafiyya al-iʿtiqādiyya , based on his scholarly interpretations of the Quran and prophetic way , constitute
5353-406: The end of his life. His work was most influenced by the sayings and actions of the first three generations of Muslims ( salaf ), which is displayed in his works where he would give preference to their opinions over those of his contemporaries. The modern Salafi movement derives its name from these generations. Ibn Taymiyya's own relationship, as a religious scholar, with the ruling apparatus
5454-494: The face of Mongol onslaught and compared their state to the withdrawal of Muslims in the Battle of Uhud . In a passionate letter to the commander of the Damascene Citadel , Ibn Taymiyya appealed: "Until there stands even a single rock, do everything in your power to not surrender the castle. There is great benefit for the people of Syria . Allah declared it a sanctuary for the people of Shām —where it will remain
5555-722: The first four months of 1303. Most of the military had fled the city, including most of the civilians. Ibn Taymiyya however, stayed and was one of the leaders of the resistance inside Damascus and he went to speak directly to the Ilkhan, Mahmud Ghazan , and his vizier Rashid al-Din Tabib . He sought the release of Muslim and dhimmi prisoners which the Mongols had taken in Syria, and after negotiation, secured their release. The second invasion lasted between October 1300 and January 1301. Ibn Taymiyya at this time began giving sermons on jihad at
5656-856: The governor's actions, resulted in him being punished with a prison sentence, the first of many such imprisonments which were to come. The French orientalist Henri Laoust says that during his incarceration, Ibn Taymiyya "wrote his first great work, al-Ṣārim al-maslūl ʿalā shātim al-Rasūl (The Drawn Sword against those who insult the Messenger). " Ibn Taymiyya, together with the help of his disciples, continued with his efforts against what, "he perceived to be un-Islamic practices" and to implement what he saw as his religious duty of commanding good and forbidding wrong. Yahya Michot says that some of these incidences included: "shaving children's heads", leading "an anti-debauchery campaign in brothels and taverns", hitting an atheist before his public execution, destroying what
5757-403: The increasing Shia influence amongst Sunni Muslims. An agreement had been made in 1316 between the amir of Mecca and the Ilkhanid ruler Öljaitü , brother of Ghazan Khan, to allow a favourable policy towards Shi'ism in the city. Around the same time the Shia theologian Al-Hilli , who had played a crucial role in the Mongol ruler's decision to make Shi'ism the state religion of Persia, wrote
5858-450: The jealousy of his peers, the risk to public order due to this popular appeal and political intrigues." Baber Johansen stated that the reasons for Ibn Taymiyya's incarcerations were, "as a result of his conflicts with Muslim mystics, jurists, and theologians, who were able to persuade the political authorities of the necessity to limit Ibn Taymiyya's range of action through political censorship and incarceration." Ibn Taymiyya's emergence in
5959-412: The judges of his position and so was incarcerated for the charge of anthropomorphism on the recommendation of al-Hindi. Thereafter, he together with his two brothers were imprisoned in the Citadel of the Mountain ( Qal'at al-Jabal ), in Cairo until September 25, 1307. He was freed due to the help he received from two amirs ; Salar and Muhanna ibn Isa , but he was not allowed to go back to Syria. He
6060-450: The locals who started to protest against him. Their main contention was Ibn Taymiyya's stance on tawassul (intercession) . In his view, a person could not ask anyone other than God for help except on the Day of Judgement when intercession in his view would be possible. At the time, the people did not restrict intercession to just the Day of Judgement but rather they said it was allowed in other cases. Due to this, Ibn Taymiyya, now aged 45,
6161-408: The most popular classical reference for later Salafi movements. It's worth noting that, although the Salafi movement claims to follow Ibn Taymiyya's teachings four centuries later, their stance often diverges from his, tending to be somewhat more extreme. Throughout his treatises, Ibn Taymiyya asserted there is no contradiction between reason and revelation, and denounced the usage of philosophy as
SECTION 60
#17328014550136262-449: The most prominent critics included Ahmad ibn Hanbal , Ibn Qutayba , Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya , Abu Hamid al-Ghazali , Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani and Ibn Taymiyyah . For example, Ahmad ibn Hanbal composed a treatise titled the al-Radd ʿalā al-zanādiqa wa-l-jahmiyya ("Refutation of the heretics and the Jahmiyya"). Yasir Qadhi wrote a lengthy dissertation (in Arabic ) entitled "The Theological Opinions of Jahm b. Ṣafwān and Their Effects on
6363-510: The one giving the order is unjust; to abstain from disputing the authority of those who exert it; and to speak out the truth, or take up its cause without fear in respect of God, of blame from anyone." Ibn Taymiyya was a religious scholar as well as an Islamic political activist. In his efforts he was persecuted and imprisoned on six occasions with the total time spent inside prison coming to over six years. Other sources say that he spent over twelve years in prison. His detentions were due to
6464-449: The other extreme, was a contemporary of Jahm who was particularly critical of him. Between the two men, a heated theological and political debate took place in the mosque of Marw regarding the divine attributes and also two political figures that both men were affiliated with. Each of them ended up writing a book refuting the other, and Muqatil used his political links to get Jahm expelled from Balkh, having him sent to Termez. Muqatil set up
6565-469: The post of professor of Hanbali jurisprudence at the Hanbaliyya madrasa, the oldest such institution of this tradition in Damascus. This is seen by some to be the peak of his scholarly career. The year when he began his post at the Hanbaliyya madrasa, was a time of political turmoil. The Mamluk sultan Al-Adil Kitbugha was deposed by his vice-sultan Al-Malik al-Mansur Lajin who then ruled from 1297 to 1299. Lajin desired to commission an expedition against
6666-461: The prevailing opinions of the jurists and theologians of his day. A judge from the city of Wasit , Iraq, requested that Ibn Taymiyya write a book on creed. His subsequent creedal work, Al-Aqidah Al-Waasitiyyah , caused him trouble with the authorities. Ibn Taymiyya adopted the view that God should be described as he was literally described in the Qur'an and in the hadith, and that all Muslims were required to believe this because according to him it
6767-427: The prevalent philosophical discourses of his time, one of which was Aristotelianism . Ibn Taymiyya also learnt about Sufism and stated he had reflected on the works of Sahl al-Tustari , al-Junayd al-Baghdadi , Abu Talib al-Makki , Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani , Shihab al-Din Umar al-Suhrawardi , and Ibn Arabi . In 1282, Ibn Taymiyya completed his education at the age of 20. After his father died in 1284, he took up
6868-487: The proceedings. The scholars suggested that he accept that his creed was simply that of the Hanbalites and offered this as a way out of the charge. However, if Ibn Taymiyya ascribed his creed to the Hanbali school of law then it would be just one view out of the four schools which one could follow rather than a creed everybody must adhere to. Uncompromising, Ibn Taymiyya maintained that it was obligatory for all scholars to adhere to his creed. Two separate councils were held
6969-398: The public and political spheres began in 1293 when he was 30 years old, when the authorities asked him to issue a fatwa (legal verdict) on Assaf al-Nasrani, a Christian cleric who was accused of insulting Muhammad. He accepted the invitation and delivered his fatwa, calling for the man to receive the death penalty. Despite the fact that public opinion was very much on Ibn Taymiyya's side,
7070-480: The pushback from the clerical establishment of the Mamluk Sultanate , who opposed certain elements of his creed and his views on some jurisprudential issues. However, according to Yahya Michot , "the real reasons were more trivial". Michot stated five reasons as to why Ibn Taymiyya was imprisoned by the Mamluk government, they being: not complying with the "doctrines and practices prevalent among powerful religious and Sufi establishments, an overly outspoken personality,
7171-402: The question of the location of God, the Jahmis are pantheists and say that he is everywhere and inside all things. In addition, they deny the possibility of righteous Muslims seeing Allah in paradise. Jahm and the Jahmiyya also argued that God was not a ''thing'', this was not to say that God does not exist, but instead that God cannot be logically predicated on anything else or be described by
7272-522: The rest of his three-year stay in Cairo. During this time he continued to teach and wrote his famous book Al- Kitab al-Siyasa al-shar'iyya (Treatise on the Government of the Religious Law) , a book noted for its account of the role of religion in politics. He spent his last fifteen years in Damascus. Aged 50, Ibn Taymiyya returned to Damascus via Jerusalem on February 28, 1313. Damascus
7373-519: The scholarly prestige and social stature of Ibn Taymiyya amongst the masses, despite opposition from the establishment clergy. He would soon be appointed as the chief professor of the elite scholarly institute " Kāmiliyya Dār al-Haḍīth ." Ibn Taymiyya's three unprecedented fatwas (legal verdicts) that excommunicated the Ilkhanid authorities and their supporters as apostates over their neglect to govern by Sharia (Islamic law) and preference of
7474-659: The spectrum of views in medieval Muslim theology, from the Ahl al-Hadith to the Mutazilites . The eponymous figure behind the Jahmiyya was Jahm ibn Safwan . Jahm was born in Samarkand . He lived and taught in northeastern Iran and it is possibly that he did not ever leave the region of Greater Khorasan . The second figure most commonly associated with the Jahmis was the Kufan Ḍirār ibn ʻAmr. However, despite his association with
7575-512: The teachings of the Asharites . Jahm's understating of basic physics and ontology were predicated on his distinction between the corporeal, bodies , and the incorporeal, that which is not a body. According to Jahm, God is incorporeal, and that which is incorporeal and does not have a body is present everywhere and in everything, and that which corporeal and has a body is present in a single location and in its own body. According to Jahm, God, who
7676-653: The term to the Ash'ari Mutakallimun (professionals in the field of Kalam ) of his time. Ibn Taymiyyah accused Ash'aris of having adopted doctrines of the Jahmiyya and instead advocated for a theology based on what he considered as returning to the views of the Salaf as-Salihin (the first three generations of Muslims). In later periods, Wahhabis also adopted the term as a derogatory reference to practitioners of Kalam theology, in order to contumely suggest that they, like Jahm, denied God's attributes. In particular, this accusation
7777-658: The then vacant post as the head of the Sukkariyya madrasa and began giving lessons on Hadith. A year later he started giving lessons, as chair of the Hanbali Zawiya on Fridays at the Umayyad Mosque , on the subject of tafsir (exegesis of Qur'an). In November 1292, Ibn Taymiyya performed the Hajj and after returning 4 months later, he wrote his first book aged twenty nine called Manasik al-Hajj (Rites of
7878-507: The theological movement known as the Jahmiyya (see: Jahmites ). Jahm worked as the assistant to al-Harith ibn Surayj during the latter's revolt against the Umayyad governor Nasr ibn Sayyar . Jahm was killed during the first attempt to take Merv in 746, though the revolt greatly weakened Umayyad power and indirectly contributed to the success of the Abbasid Revolution . Establishing the positive content of Jahm's doctrines
7979-555: The throne, Baibars al-Jashnakir . His reign, marked by economical and political unrest, only lasted a year. In August 1309, Ibn Taymiyya was taken into custody and placed under house arrest for seven months in the new sultan's palace in Alexandria . He was freed when al-Nasir Muhammad retook the position of sultan on March 4, 1310. Having returned to Cairo a week later, he was received by al-Nasir. The sultan would sometimes consult Ibn Taymiyya on religious affairs and policies during
8080-461: The traditional Mongol imperial code of Yassa ; would form the theological basis of 20th century Islamist and Jihadist scholars and ideologues. Reviving Ibn Taymiyya's fatwas during the late 20th-century, Jihadist ideologues like Sayyid Qutb , Abd al-Salam al-Faraj , Abdullah Azzam , Usama bin Laden , Ayman al-Zawahiri , etc. made public Takfir (excommunication) of contemporary governments of
8181-513: The treatise. Ibn Taymiyya referred to his imprisonment as "a divine blessing". During his incarceration, he wrote that, "when a scholar forsakes what he knows of the Book of God and of the sunnah of His messenger and follows the ruling of a ruler which contravenes a ruling of God and his messenger, he is a renegade, an unbeliever who deserves to be punished in this world and in the hereafter." During his imprisonment, he encountered opposition from
8282-581: The validity and permissibility of making a journey to visit the tombs of prophets and saints . It is reported that in the book "he condemned the cult of saints" and declared that traveling with the sole purpose of visiting Muhammad's grave was a blameworthy religious innovation. For this, Ibn Taymiyya, was imprisoned in the Citadel of Damascus sixteen years later on July 18, 1326, aged 63, along with his student Ibn Qayyim. The sultan also prohibited him from issuing any further fatwas. Hanbali scholar Ahmad ibn Umar al-Maqdisi accused Ibn Taymiyya of apostasy over
8383-588: The works of Ahmad ibn Hanbal , Abu Bakr al-Khallal , and Ibn Qudama , as well as the works of his own grandfather, Majd al-Din. His study of jurisprudence was not limited to the Hanbali tradition, as he also studied the other schools of jurisprudence. The number of scholars under which he studied hadith is said to number more than two-hundred, four of whom were women. Those who are known by name amount to forty hadith teachers, as recorded by Ibn Taymiyya in his work titled Arba'un Haditha . Serajul Haque says, based on this, Ibn Taymiyya started to hear hadith from
8484-615: Was a Sunni Muslim scholar , jurist , traditionist , ascetic , proto-Salafi theologian and iconoclast . He is known for his diplomatic involvement with the Ilkhanid ruler Ghazan Khan at the Battle of Marj al-Saffar , which ended the Mongol invasions of the Levant . A legal jurist of the Hanbali school , Ibn Taymiyya's condemnation of numerous folk practices associated with saint veneration and visitation of tombs made him
8585-476: Was a teacher of the last Umayyad caliph, Marwan II , and is described as a Dahrī and Zindīq (heretic) for being the first person to state that God does not speak, hence the Quran is created . He was the first Muslim reported to have spoken about the createdness of the Qurʾān and reject Abraham's friendship with God and Moses' speaking to Him. The name of Jahm b. Ṣafwān would later be ascribed - possibly spuriously - to
8686-464: Was alongside his criticism of the opposing Muqatiliyyah. In particular Abu Hanifah went as far as declaring Jahm a disbeliever. A theologian by the name of Uthman bin Sa'id ad-Darimi (d. 280 H) (not to be confused with al-Darimi the author of the Sunan al-Darimi ) also wrote refutations of Jahm and wrote a large refutation of a prominent Jahmite by the name of Bishr al-Marisi wherein he declared him
8787-457: Was based on the Qur'an and hadith. His view on the issue was at odds with the Hanbali position. This proved controversial among the people in Damascus as well as the Islamic scholars who opposed him on the issue. According to the scholars of the time, an oath of divorce counted as a full divorce and they were also of the view that three oaths of divorce taken under one occasion counted as three separate divorces. The significance of this was, that
8888-591: Was born on 10 Rabi' al-Awwal 661 AH in Harran , Mamluk Sultanate to a family of traditional Hanbali scholars. He had Arab and Kurdish lineages by way of his Arab father and Kurdish mother. His father, Shihab al-Din Abd al-Halim ibn Taymiyya , held the Hanbali chair in Harran and later at the Umayyad Mosque . At the time, Harran was a part of the Mamluk Sultanate , near what is today the border of Syria and Turkey, currently in
8989-441: Was found innocent. Despite the open meeting, objections regarding his creed continued and he was summoned to the Citadel in Cairo for a munazara (legal debate), which took place on April 8, 1306. During the munazara , his views on divine attributes, specifically whether a direction could be attributed to God, were debated by the Indian scholar Safi al-Din al-Hindi, in the presence of Islamic judges. Ibn Taymiyya failed to convince
9090-506: Was made to him but he never accepted. Ibn Taymiyya was taught by scholars who were renowned in their time; however, there is no evidence any of them had a significant influence on him. A strong influence on Ibn Taymiyya was the founder of the Hanbali school itself, Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Ibn Taymiyya was trained in his school by studying Ahmad's Musnad in great detail, having studied it multiple times. Though he spent much of his life following this school, he renounced blind-following near
9191-504: Was not accepted by the majority of scholars of the time and this continued into the Ottoman era . However, almost every modern Muslim nation-state has come to adopt Ibn Taymiyya's position on this issue of divorce. At the time he issued the fatwa, Ibn Taymiyya revived an edict by the sultan not to issue fatwas on this issue but he continued to do so, saying, "I cannot conceal my knowledge". As in previous instances, he stated that his fatwa
9292-504: Was not always amicable. It ranged from silence to open rebellion. On occasions when he shared the same views and aims as the ruling authorities his contributions were welcomed, but when Ibn Taymiyya went against the status quo, he was seen as "uncooperative", and on occasions spent much time in prison. Ibn Taymiyya's attitude towards his own rulers was based on the actions of Muhammad's companions when they made an oath of allegiance to him as follows; "to obey within obedience to God, even if
9393-415: Was now under the governorship of Tankiz . There, Ibn Taymiyya continued his teaching role as professor of Hanbali fiqh. This is when he taught his most famous student, Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya , who went on to become a noted scholar in Islamic history. Ibn Qayyim was to share in Ibn Taymiyya's renewed persecution. Three years after his arrival in the city, Ibn Taymiyya became involved in efforts to deal with
9494-528: Was of the view that a single oath of divorce uttered but not intended, also does not count as an actual divorce. He stated that since this is an oath much like an oath taken in the name of God, a person must expiate for an unintentional oath in a similar manner. Due to his views and also by not abiding to the sultan's letter two years before forbidding him from issuing a fatwa on the issue, three council hearings were held, in as many years (1318, 1319 and 1320), to deal with this matter. The hearing were overseen by
9595-516: Was one of those clerics who stood firm alongside the vulnerable Damascus citizens and called for an uncompromising and heroic resistance to the Tatar invaders. Ibn Taymiyya drew parallels of their crisis with the Riddah wars (Apostate wars) fought by the first Muslim Caliph , Abu Bakr , against the renegade Arabian tribes that abandoned sharia . Ibn Taymiyya severely rebuked those Muslims escaping in
9696-528: Was ordered to appear before the Shafi'i judge Badr al-Din in March 1308 and was questioned on his stance regarding intercession. Thereafter, he was incarcerated in the prison of the judges in Cairo for some months. After his release, he was allowed to return to Syria, should he so wish. Ibn Taymiyya however stayed in Egypt for a further five years. 1309, the year after his release, saw a new Mamluk sultan accede to
9797-511: Was sent to get reinforcements from Cairo. Narrating Ibn Taymiyya's fierce stance on fighting the Mongols, Ibn Kathir reports: even if you see me on their side with a Qurʾan on my side, kill them immediately! The year 1303 saw the third Mongol invasion of Syria by Ghazan Khan. What has been called Ibn Taymiyya's "most famous" fatwā was his third fatwa issued against the Mongols in the Mamluk's war . Ibn Taymiyya declared that jihad against
9898-415: Was the view held by the early Muslim community ( salaf ). Within the space of two years (1305–1306) four separate religious council hearings were held to assess the correctness of his creed. The first hearing was held with Ash'ari scholars who accused Ibn Taymiyya of anthropomorphism . At the time Ibn Taymiyya was 42 years old. He was protected by the then Governor of Damascus, Aqqush al-Afram , during
9999-438: Was then again summoned for a legal debate, but this time he convinced the judges that his views were correct and he was allowed to go free. Ibn Taymiyya continued to face troubles for his views which were found to be at odds with those of his contemporaries. His strong opposition to what he believed to be religious innovations, caused upset among the prominent Sufis of Egypt including Ibn Ata Allah and Karim al-Din al-Amuli, and
10100-495: Was thought to be a sacred rock in a mosque, attacking astrologers and obliging "deviant Sufi Shaykhs to make public acts of contrition and adhere to the Sunnah." Ibn Taymiyya and his disciples used to condemn wine sellers and they would attack wine shops in Damascus by breaking wine bottles and pouring them onto the floor. A few years later in 1296, he took over the position of one of his teachers (Zayn al-Din Ibn al-Munadjdjaal), taking
10201-611: Was used by early Wahhabis against Maliki Muslims living in eastern Arabia , sometimes singled out as being located in Dubai and Abu Dhabi , who they believed to interpret some of the attributes of God in a purely metaphorical sense. Jahm bin Safwan Jahm bin Safwan ( Arabic : جَهْم بن صَفْوان , romanized : Jahm bin Ṣafwān ) was an Islamic theologian of the Umayyad period and whose name has given rise to
#12987