Anthropomorphism in Islam

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Livnat Holtzman
Keyword(s):  
Formative Period ◽  
Literary Analysis ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Islamic Theology ◽  
Islamic World ◽  
The Road ◽  
Political Struggles ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
The Way

More than any other issue in early and medieval Islamic theology, anthropomorphism (tashbīh) stood at the heart of many theological debates. These debates were not purely intellectual; they were intrinsically linked to political struggles over hegemony. The way a scholar interpreted the anthropomorphic descriptions of God in the Qur’an and the Hadith (for instance, God’s hand, God’s laughter or God’s sitting on the heavenly throne) often reflected his political and social stature, and his theological affinity. This book focuses on aḥādīth al-ṣifāt – the traditions that depict God and His attributes in an anthropomorphic language. The book reveals the way these traditions were studied and interpreted in the circles of Islamic traditionalism which included ultra-traditionalists (the Hanbalites and their forerunners) and middle-of-the-road traditionalists (Ash’arites and their forerunners). The book presents an in-depth literary analysis of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt while considering the role of the early scholars of Hadith in shaping the narrative of these anthropomorphic texts. The book also offers the first scholarly and systematic presentation of hand, face, and bodily gestures that the scholars performed while transmitting the anthropomorphic traditions. The book goes on to discuss the inner controversies in the prominent traditionalistic learning centres of the Islamic world regarding the way to understand and interpret these anthropomorphic traditions. Through a close, contextualized, and interdisciplinary reading in Hadith compilations, theological treatises, and historical sources, this book offers an evaluation and understanding of the traditionalistic endeavours to define anthropomorphism in the most crucial and indeed most formative period of Islamic thought.

Reason, Action, and the Creative Imagination

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-180
Author(s):  
Roger W. H. Savage ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Creative Imagination ◽  
Work Of Art ◽  
Normative Force ◽  
Political Struggles ◽  
Political Problem ◽  
Normative Value ◽  
Practical Field ◽  
The Way

The exemplary value of individual moral and political acts provides a unique vantage point for inquiring into the role of the creative imagination in social life. Drawing on Kant’s concept of productive imagination, I argue that an act’s exemplification of a fitting response to a moral or political problem or crisis is comparable to the way that a work of art expresses the ‘thought’ or ‘idea’ to which it gives voice. The exercise of practical reason, or phronesis, is akin to the way that a work augments the practical field of our experiences in this respect. For, like a work of art, the act produces the rule to be followed by means of the example that it sets. Accordingly, I explain how the injunction issuing from the act can be credited to the way that the singular case summons its rule. The singular character of the injunction issuing from the act thus brings to the fore the relation between reflective judgment and this injunction’s normative value. The conjunction of reason, action, and the creative power of imagination offers a critical point of access for interrogating the normative force of claims rooted in individual acts. By setting reason, action, and imagination in the same conceptual framework, I therefore highlight the creative imagination’s subversive role in countering hegemonic systems and habits of thought through promoting the causes of social and political struggles.

Walter Lippmann: The Prophet of Liberalism and the Road not Taken

2019 ◽  
Vol 139 (2-4) ◽  
pp. 349-364
Author(s):  
Eric Schliesser
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Spiritual Transformation ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Historical Time ◽  
The Road ◽  
Walter Lippmann ◽  
The Way

This article shows how in The Good Society Walter Lippmann argues that the very idea of a liberalism worth having is a spiritual project: it involves a spiritual transformation over extended historical time even if the true destination is unknown or uncertain. Along the way, I argue that Lippmann is also acutely aware of the dangers of theorizing that merely affirms an imperfect (or worse) status quo. He is, thus, attractive for those who wish to revive liberalism. In addition, Lippmann’s sensitivity to the role of power and technological change generates a potentially important philosophy of law. This article sketches his understanding of a liberalism that embraces a “spirit of adaptation” without too much deference to a status quo. The second part shows that despite his sensitivity to the risks of demagogues in politics, Lippmann did not turn away from democratic politics. In particular, he has an attractive conception of the vital nature of a pluralist politics inherent to liberalism. Along the way the key limitation of Lippmann’s political philosophy is diagnosed: his depoliticized, juridical conception of political representation and legislation.

Tradition and Ideology in Contemporary Sunnite Qur'ānic Exegesis: Qur'ānic Commentaries from the Arab World, Turkey and Indonesia and their Interpretation of Q 5:51

2010 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Pink
Keyword(s):  
Arab World ◽  
Direct Reference ◽  
Faculty Position ◽  
Islamic Theology ◽  
Ideological Bias ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Qur'anic Exegesis ◽  
Hostile Attitude ◽  
The Way

AbstractThis paper analyses the genre of contemporary tafsīr, focussing on the attitude of modern Sunnite exegetes towards Jews and Christians, on the role of different strands of tradition and of ideological bias for their interpretion of the Qur'ān, and on the similarities and differences between Qur'ānic commentaries from different regions of the Muslim word. It is based on the study of seventeen Qur'ānic commentaries from the Arab World, Indonesia and Turkey that have been published since 1967. The analysis of the authors' background reveals that in recent times, Qur'ānic commentaries tend to be written by professional male 'ulamā' from a provincial background, usually holding a faculty position in Islamic theology. As most exegetes' aim is to stress the timeless relevance of the Qur'ān, few of the commentaries make direct reference to contemporary events. Still, many of them are, in a very modern way, more concerned with providing religious guidance than with explaining the Qur'ān's meaning. However, the “traditional” explanatory approach is still alive, predominantly in commentators who are affiliated with Egypt's Azhar University. Besides the tradition of premodern Sunnite tafsīr, which all commentaries build on to a certain extent, Salafī exegesis is clearly influential in the way in which several commentaries strive at disassociating themselves from Christians and Jews and at building up a dichotomy between “us” and “them” in their exegesis of Q 5:51, which contains an interdiction against taking Christians and Jews as awliyā' (a term that is variably understood as meaning friends, allies, intimates, confidants, helpers, or leaders). It is striking that Arab commentators, for the most part, show a much more hostile attitude towards Christians and Jews than their Indonesian and Turkish counterparts.

scholarly journals The Role of Sufism in Spreading Islam and Fighting Atonement

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 239
Author(s):  
Isa Abdullah Ali
Keyword(s):  
Main Axis ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Past ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
Faithful State ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Way

This paper delivered the need for Islamic thought to confront the Takfiri thought, through the return of Sufi thought. Sufism does not have fatwa to kill others, Sufism talks about tolerance, the love of the Prophet, and the non-compulsion of others tojoin either Islam or the way the murid belongs to. Sufism represents the spiritual and faithful state of Islam, the core of Islam. This paper find out the role of Sufism in the spread of Islam; in the past, and the contemporary in the fight against atonement. The aim of this paper is to describe the culture of Sufism, this paper studies the intellectual of Sufism, Sufim cultural, and politics as well. This paper studied about three main axis of Sufism; the culture and history of Sufism, the role of Sufism in spreading Islam, and the role of Sufism in addressing the Takfiri thought. Based on this study, the Islamic institution and government should adopt and adapt the Sufi thought, and to address the Takfiri culture, to prevent Muslim from joining the Takfiri groups

THE CONCEPT OF INTELLIGENCE AND REVELATION IN THE MU’TAZILAH SCHOOL OF THOUGHT

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Hanan
Keyword(s):  
Word Of God ◽  
Islamic Theology ◽  
Islamic World ◽  
The People ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
Subject And Object ◽  
The Relationship

The school of Mu'tazilah thought in the development of Islamic thought is a very interesting and significant study. It is interesting, because the Mu'tazilah school is the oldest and the largest school of Islamic theology that has played an important role in Islamic world thought. Another interesting thing is that Mu'tazilah is a representation of the consciousness of the Islamic world in its progress and modernity. Intellect is the power of thought to understand something, in which there is a possibility that the understanding gained by reason can be wrong can also be true. Revelation is the word of God conveyed to his prophet both for himself and to be conveyed to the people. Knowledge is the relationship between subject and object, while science is knowledge that has been scientifically tested and the truth is clear. Reason and revelation are used to gain knowledge for mankind. Between reason and revelation there is a space where both can meet and even interact with each other and there is a space where they must separate. At the time the revelation recommended the development of science and the preservation of culture by providing space for freedom for reason to think dynamically, creatively and openly, there was a meeting space between reason and revelation. So that the relationship between reason and revelation is not contradictory but is very related between one another, even both of them perfect each other

scholarly journals Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind: Light and luminous being in Islamic theology

2021 ◽  
pp. 205030322098697
Author(s):  
Christian Lange
Keyword(s):  
Early Medieval ◽  
Islamic Theology ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
The Road ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
Medieval Islam

For theologians, to conceive of God in terms of light has some undeniable advantages, allowing a middle-of-the road position between the two extremes of thinking about God in terms of a purely disembodied, unfathomable, unsensible being, and of crediting Him with a body, possibly even a human(oid) body. This paper first reviews the reasons why God, in early medieval Islam, was never fully theorized in terms of light. It then proceeds to discuss light-related narratives in two major, late-medieval compilations of hadiths about the afterlife, by al-Suyuti (Ash’ari, Egypt, d. 1505) and al-Majlisi (Persia, d. 1699), suggesting that eschatology was the area in which God’s light continued to shine in Islam, and the backdoor through which a theology of light, in the thought of al-Suhrawardi (Syria, d. 1191) and his followers, made a triumphant re-entry into Islamic thought.

Let's Go to the Moon: Science Fiction in the North Korean Children's Magazine Adong Munhak, 1956–1965

2014 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dafna Zur
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Political Discourses ◽  
The North ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Bear Witness ◽  
The Ideal ◽  
The Way

Science fiction narratives appeared in the North Korean children's magazine Adong munhak between 1956 and 1965, and they bear witness to the significant Soviet influence in this formative period of the DPRK. Moving beyond questions of authenticity and imitation, however, this article locates the science fiction narrative within North Korean discourses on children's literature preoccupied with the role of fiction as both a reflection of the real and a projection of the imminent, utopian future. Through a close reading of science fiction narratives from this period, this article underscores the way in which science, technology, and the environment are implicated in North Korean political discourses of development, and points to the way in which these works resolve the inherent tension between the desirable and seemingly contradictory qualities of the ideal scientist—obedient servant of the collective and indefatigable questioner—to establish the child-scientist as the new protagonist of the DPRK.

scholarly journals Studi Islam Inklusif dan Universal: Epistemologi Scholar Sebagai Outsider Pemeluk Agama

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 159
Author(s):  
Henry Teddy
Keyword(s):  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Muslim World ◽  
Philosophical Method ◽  
Islamic Studies ◽  
Normative Approach ◽  
The Road ◽  
Entire Universe ◽  
Epistemological Basis ◽  
The Way

Studi tentang Islam dengan pendekatan yang normatif menjadikan kajian tentangnya sebagai kajian yang terbatas bahkan kerap tertutup. Studi Islam yang berperspektif teologi apologeticcenderung menghasilkan pemikiran yang provokatif sehingga tertutup jalan bagi mereka yang non muslim atau outsider berproses dalam studi Islam itu sendiri. Akan tetapi ketika dibuka jalan bagi Studi Islam yang ilmiah dengan pendekatan interdisipliner, Inklusiflah kesempatan para outsider melibatkan diri dalam studi Islam. Namun pertanyaan yang belum selesai adalah apakah keInklusifan dalam Islamic Studiesdibangun dengan basis epistemologi yang kuat. Apa dasar epistemologis dari Islamic Studies sehingga keInklusifan yang dimaksud bisa membawa perubahan yang signifikan bagi masyarakat sendiri, secara khusus bagi Islam itu sendiri. KeInklusifan yang dimaksud adalah peran Studi Islam itu sendiri yang membuka kesempatan untuk para outsider untuk menghadirkan Islam sebagai wajah yang universal dan menjadi rahmat bagi seluruh alam semesta. Lewat penelusuran pemikiran secara epistemologis maka dapatlah kita temukan bahwa Studi Islam banyak mengalami dinamika. Hal ini dikarenakan dunia Muslim sendiri yang terus menggumuli bagaimana agar ke-Islam-an dapat terus hidup sesuai dengan realitasnya. Lewat kajian ini akan diperlihatkan bagaimana perubahan gagasan dalam Studi Islam yang pada dirinya sendiri menunjukkan sifat yang Inklusif dan universal. Corak filsafat menjadi penentu dalam dinamika keInklusifan Studi Islam yang pada dasarnya selalu mau membuka diri pada konsepsi baru yang pada akhirnya Islam pun memiliki Epistemologinya sendiri.[Islamic Studies with a normative approach study it a limited field, even often closed to outsiders. Islamic studies with an apologetic theology perspective tend to produce provocative thoughts so that the road is closed for non-Muslims or outsiders in the process of Islamic studies itself. However, when the way is opened for Islamic scientific studies with an interdisciplinary approach, it opens up opportunities for outsiders to get involved in Islamic studies. However, the unfinished question is whether openness in Islamic Studies is built on a robust epistemological basis. What is the epistemological basis of Islamic Studies so that the intended openness can bring about significant changes for society itself, especially for Islam itself? The openness in question is the role of Islamic Studies itself, which opens opportunities for outsiders to present Islam as a universal face and become a blessing for the entire universe. Through an epistemological search of thought, we can find that Islamic studies experience many dynamics. This is because the Muslim world itself struggles with how Islam can continue to live following its reality. This study will show how changes in ideas in Islamic Studies show themselves an open and universal character. The philosophical method becomes a determinant in the dynamics of openness of Islamic studies, which always wants to open itself to new conceptions which in the end Islam also has its epistemology.]

scholarly journals Avicenna on Animal Goods

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Bethany Somma (بِثَنِي سومّا)
Keyword(s):  
Animal Ethics ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Islamic World

Abstract Investigating historical sources for positions on animals and animal ethics within philosophy of the Islamic world is a profound challenge, given the quantity and diversity of possible source texts. This article argues that Ibn Sīnā’s (Avicenna, d. 428/1037) philosophy provides a hitherto unappreciated account of animal well-being. By tracing his conception of providence to that of essences, and by highlighting the role of psychological powers in ensuring the attainment of essential goods, this article argues that Avicenna can account both for essential goods and interests proper to individual species and for the capacity of animals to attain these goods and interests. This account rests on Avicenna’s rich teleology, which includes the role of the lawgiver as the upholder of justice within human society. In the end, human goods and animal goods are articulated with the same overarching account, which human beings are called to know.

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