Ibn Taymia's Response to Christianity

281 Pages·2016·2.8 MB·English

A Critical Study
Of
Ibn Taymia’s Response to Christianity

THESIS
SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
IN
ISLAMIC STUDIES
By
FADHL MOHAMMED MOHAMMED FUSHOOSH
Under the Supervision Of
Prof. OBAIDULLAH FAHAD
DEPARTMENT OF ISLAMIC STUDES
ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY
ALIGARH (INDIA)
2016

Dedication
With immense love and reverence
I dedicate this work
To
My parents
Who painstakingly bore my separation,
To
My children who longingly awaited my
return
To
My wife who patiently exerted to carry out
the responsibilities of parenting our children

Acknowledgements
Ultimate praise and thanks are due to Allah who helps all those who seriously seek His
help through extending all means to reach their goals; He is the Most Merciful, the Most
Compassionate.
I am immensely grateful to the chairperson of the Department of Islamic Studies, Prof.
Sayyid Ahsan, who treated me with immense kindness and amiability and provided all
necessary administrative help throughout my tenure.
Thanks should next be extended to my supervisor, Professor Obaidullah Fahad for his
indispensible and impeccable guidance throughout all stages of writing the thesis. He
spared no effort to provide his enlightening recommendations that contributed to the
quality as well as precision of this presentation.
Thanks are also due to all staff members in the administration of the department for their
bureaucratic facilities. Thanks should also be extended to the library staff members for
their guidance in locating the appropriate references in the seminar library of the
department.
I should not forget to thank my parents, wife and my three children (Shadin, Haneef and
Jana) in Yemen for bearing with me and waiting for me patiently despite all the political
problems that were rife during our separation.
I am pleased to thank everyone who helped in any way in the work at any level or stage,
especially Mr. Tahbrez Sormaly (Mauritian) for checking my transliteration, and my
colleagues from Kashmir Mr. M. Dawood, for his formatting remarks, Mr. Yaseen, Mr.
Iqbal, Mr. Showkat, Mr. Zubair, Mr. Mudassir and Mr. Irfan for their imformation about
the various procedures of the university.
I am also indebted to my Yemeni friends for their valuable academic help and moral
support, especially Dr. Muhammad Jubaily whose role was truly instrumental in whatever
academic advancement I have made so far.
Fadhl

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Transliteration Table .................................................................................................. VII
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 3
1. THE AGE OF IBN TAYMIYYAH ......................................................................... 11
1.1 The Political Situation ................................................................................... 11
1.1.1 The Origin of the Mamlūks .................................................................... 12
1.1.2 Rise of the Mamlūks .............................................................................. 12
1.1.3 Al-Manṣūrah Battle and the Mamlūks ................................................... 14
1.1.4 The Mongol Threat ................................................................................ 15
1.1.5 ‘Ayn Jālūt the Decisive Battle ............................................................... 17
1.1.6 The Preparation against the Crusade Emirates ...................................... 17
1.1.7 Precautionary Measures against Contingent Mongol Attacks ............... 18
1.1.8 The Mamlūk-Crusader Encounter .......................................................... 21
1.2 The Socio-Religious Situation ...................................................................... 21
1.2.1 Position of the Mamlūks ........................................................................ 22
1.2.2 The Feudal System ................................................................................. 24
1.2.3 The Sultans ............................................................................................. 24
1.2.4 The Sultanic Mamlūks ........................................................................... 25
1.2.5 Awlādunnās ............................................................................................ 25
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1.2.6 The Bureaucratic Class .......................................................................... 27
1.2.7 The Subjects ........................................................................................... 28
1.2.8 The Sufis ................................................................................................ 28
1.2.9 Religiously Unacceptable Practices ....................................................... 30
1.2.10 Markets .................................................................................................. 33
1.2.11 The Minorities ........................................................................................ 35
1.3 The Intellectual Situation .............................................................................. 38
1.3.1 The Islamic Schools ............................................................................... 40
1.3.2 The Populist Religious Thought ............................................................ 42
2 . EDUCATION, LIFE AND BOOKS OF IBN TAYMIYYAH ........................... 51
2.1 BIRTH ........................................................................................................... 52
2.2 Education and Academic Qualities ............................................................... 52
2.3 Areas of Interest ............................................................................................ 56
2.4 Physical and Moral Features ......................................................................... 58
2.4.1 Sincerity ................................................................................................. 58
2.4.2 Austerity ................................................................................................. 59
2.4.3 Courage and Generosity ......................................................................... 60
2.4.4 Magnanimity .......................................................................................... 61
2.4.5 Mercifulness ........................................................................................... 63
2.5 Debates .......................................................................................................... 64
2.5.1 The Theological Development across History ....................................... 65
II