Ash‘arism Encounters Avicennism

Sayf al-Dīn al-Āmidī on Creation

This study of Sayf al-Dīn al-Āmidī’s (d. 631/1233) teachings on creation offers close analysis of all of his extant works of falsafa and kalām. Some of these were not known to previous scholars, yet they bear witness to key facets of the interaction between the historically inimical traditions of Hellenic philosophy and rational theology at this important intellectual moment. Al-Āmidī is seen to grapple with the encounter of two paradigms for the discussion of creation. On the one hand, Ibn Sīnā’s metaphysical concept of necessity of existence is the basis of his doctrine of the world’s pre-eternal emanation. On the other, for the mutakallimūn, the physical theory of atomism bolsters the view that God created the world from nothing. This study is of interest to scholars of Ibn Sīnā and Ash‘arism alike, as it advances our understanding of the ongoing tradition of rational theology in the Islamic world, long past Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī’s (d. 505/1111) famous attack on the philosophers.

Publisher: Gorgias Press LLC

Availability: In stock

SKU (ISBN): 978-1-4632-0719-9

Formats *

Publication Status: In Print

Series: Islamic History and Thought 19

Publication Date: Jul 28,2020

Interior Color: Black

Trim Size: 6 x 9

Page Count: 329

Language: English

ISBN: 978-1-4632-0719-9

$114.95

Qty:

This study of Sayf al-Dīn al-Āmidī’s (d. 631/1233) teachings on creation offers close analysis of all of his extant works of falsafa and kalām. Some of these were not known to previous scholars, yet they bear witness to key facets of the interaction between the historically inimical traditions of Hellenic philosophy and rational theology at this important intellectual moment. Al-Āmidī is seen to grapple with the encounter of two paradigms for the discussion of creation. On the one hand, Ibn Sīnā’s metaphysical concept of necessity of existence is the basis of his doctrine of the world’s pre-eternal emanation. On the other, for the mutakallimūn, the physical theory of atomism bolsters the view that God created the world from nothing.

Though he begins with a posture of acceptance towards both the doctrines and methods of Ibn Sīnā, al-Āmidī gradually evolves to a position of hostility towards the entire philosophical tradition. Nevertheless, deep tensions are present in his thought; on the one hand, Ibn Sīnā’s notion of the sheer necessity of God’s existence is so compelling theologically that it becomes the mainstay of al-Āmidī’s understanding of the God-world relationship. Yet some of its more problematic implications are targets for al-Āmidī’s fierce opposition by the time of his mature works of kalām. Underlying all this is the often unstated, but all pervasive, influence of al-Āmidī’s highly successful peer, Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1210).

This study is of interest to scholars of Ibn Sīnā and Ash‘arism alike, as it advances our understanding of the ongoing tradition of rational theology in the Islamic world, long past Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī’s (d. 505/1111) famous attack on the philosophers.

"In a superb work of intellectual biography, Laura Hassan takes us on a fascinating journey through al-Āmidī’s unique and ever evolving appropriation of Avicennan ideas into an Ash‘ari theology of creation. This is an immensely important contribution to our understanding of how Ash‘ari theology in the 12th and 13th centuries navigated the treacherous path from its classical expression through the challenges posed by the philosophy of Ibn Sīnā.''

Jon Hoover, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Nottingham

''Laura Hassan's Ashʿarism Encounters Avicennism: Sayf al-Dīn al-Āmidī on Creation is the first extended study of the post-Avicennan philosopher and theologian Sayf al-Dīn al-Āmidī. The work truly fills a lacuna in the literature, and does so in a clear and philosophically engaging way. The issue of the world's age, which is at the core of Hassan's work, was unquestionably one of the most hotly debated topic in the medieval Islamic intellectual world. Hassan not only contextualizes that debate in order to explain al-Āmidī's own evolving position and then complete turn-around, but also integrates discussions of possibility, necessity, atomism and even the nature of post-Avicennan physics into her narrative. This is a wonderful book, which I strongly recommend for anyone interested in Islamic philosophy and theology at the end of the classical period.''

Jon McGinnis, Professor of Classical and medieval Philosophy, University of Missouri, St. Louis

...Hassan’s book is a valuable and certainly very insightful contribution to furthering our understanding not only of al-Āmidī’s thought on creation in particular, but the intricate ways in which different intellectual traditions in classical Islam reacted to each other.

Hannah C. Erlwein Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin, Germany, in the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, March 2022.

...a perceptive intellectual biography of a unique and interesting thirteenth-century Islamic philosophical theologian.

Hassan provides a thorough survey of the intellectual ecosystem which al-Āmidī; inhabited, which is both comprehensive of the theological tradition preceding him, and rich with informative references to its key figures and arguments.

Here, the reader receives a well-organized, comprehensive, and deeply informative education; not only on al-Āmidī;, but also on the philosophical devel-opments underlying the classical and early post-classical Islamic conversation over what it means for the cosmos to have been ‘created’, and how to understand that fact as a premise in our inference to the existence of a Creator. Given its historic breadth, its informative reference to the major figures, and its clear, detailed, and philosophically acute analyses of the concepts and arguments involved in the creation debate, the book would make for an excellent primary text for advanced courses on Islamic philosophy and theology.

Edward Moad, Qatar University, Journal of Islamic Studies 2022, pp. 1-4.

... [we] salute the effort made by Laura Hassan who, despite the complexity of the literature, has successfully managed to demonstrate the connections between Ashʿarism and Avicennism in the thought of Āmidī concerning the creation of the world.

Ilyass Amharar, Post-doctorant Aix Marseille Université, in IREMAMISLAMOLOGIE, DROIT, PHILOSOPHIE, SCIENCES, 2022.

Overview
Reviews
Contact Us
About the Author

This study of Sayf al-Dīn al-Āmidī’s (d. 631/1233) teachings on creation offers close analysis of all of his extant works of falsafa and kalām. Some of these were not known to previous scholars, yet they bear witness to key facets of the interaction between the historically inimical traditions of Hellenic philosophy and rational theology at this important intellectual moment. Al-Āmidī is seen to grapple with the encounter of two paradigms for the discussion of creation. On the one hand, Ibn Sīnā’s metaphysical concept of necessity of existence is the basis of his doctrine of the world’s pre-eternal emanation. On the other, for the mutakallimūn, the physical theory of atomism bolsters the view that God created the world from nothing.

Though he begins with a posture of acceptance towards both the doctrines and methods of Ibn Sīnā, al-Āmidī gradually evolves to a position of hostility towards the entire philosophical tradition. Nevertheless, deep tensions are present in his thought; on the one hand, Ibn Sīnā’s notion of the sheer necessity of God’s existence is so compelling theologically that it becomes the mainstay of al-Āmidī’s understanding of the God-world relationship. Yet some of its more problematic implications are targets for al-Āmidī’s fierce opposition by the time of his mature works of kalām. Underlying all this is the often unstated, but all pervasive, influence of al-Āmidī’s highly successful peer, Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1210).

This study is of interest to scholars of Ibn Sīnā and Ash‘arism alike, as it advances our understanding of the ongoing tradition of rational theology in the Islamic world, long past Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī’s (d. 505/1111) famous attack on the philosophers.

Jon Hoover, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Nottingham

Jon McGinnis, Professor of Classical and medieval Philosophy, University of Missouri, St. Louis

Hannah C. Erlwein Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin, Germany, in the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, March 2022.

...a perceptive intellectual biography of a unique and interesting thirteenth-century Islamic philosophical theologian.

Edward Moad, Qatar University, Journal of Islamic Studies 2022, pp. 1-4.

Ilyass Amharar, Post-doctorant Aix Marseille Université, in IREMAMISLAMOLOGIE, DROIT, PHILOSOPHIE, SCIENCES, 2022.

Your name *

Your email *

Subject: *

Enquiry *

	Contributor	Biography
	Laura Hassan	Laura Hassan studied Arabic and Islamic Studies with Syriac at Pembroke College, Oxford and in Fes and Alexandria, before completing her postgraduate studies at SOAS. She is currently an Associate faculty member at Oxford University.

Customers who bought this item also bought

Calling Out to Isis

The Enduring Nubian Presence at Philae

By Solange Ashby

Series: Gorgias Studies in the Ancient Near East 13

ISBN: 978-1-4632-0715-1

The expansion of the cult of the goddess Isis throughout the Mediterranean world demonstrates the widespread appeal of Egyptian religion in the Greco-Roman period. In this monograph, Ashby focuses on an oft-neglected population in studies of this phenomenon: Nubian worshipers. Through examination of prayer inscriptions and legal agreements engraved on temple walls, as well as Ptolemaic royal decrees and temple imagery, Ashby sheds new light on the involvement of Nubians in the Egyptian temples of Lower Nubia, and further draws comparisons between Nubian cultic practices and the Meroitic royal funerary cult.

$95.00

Syriac-English New Testament

The Traditional Syriac Peshitta Text and the Antioch Bible English Translation

General Editor George Anton Kiraz; Translated by Jeff W. Childers, J. Edward Walters, Daniel King, Robert A. Kitchen, Jerome Alan Lund & James Prather

ISBN: 978-1-4632-4160-5

After the success of the Antioch Bible, this publication is a new, historic edition of the Syriac-English New Testament in a single volume. The English translations of the New Testament Syriac Peshitta along with the Syriac text were carried out by an international team of scholars. NOTE: If you meant to order the beautiful gold gilded edition of this book, rather than the standard format, please see the link in the Overview text below.

From $30.00

A Contextual Reading of Ethiopian Crosses through Form and Ritual

Kaleidoscopes of Meaning

By Maria Evangelatou

Series: Gorgias Eastern Christian Studies 49

ISBN: 978-1-4632-0578-2

An exploration of the ways in which crosses reflect and shape ideas and practices in Ethiopian culture: from religious values and rituals to magic and apocalyptic beliefs, and from individual identities to socio-political structures and power relations.

$95.00

Peshitta English New Testament

The Antioch Bible English Translation

General Editor George Anton Kiraz; Translated by Jeff W. Childers, J. Edward Walters, Daniel King & Robert A. Kitchen

ISBN: 978-1-4632-4213-8

After the success of the Antioch Bible, this publication is a new translation of the Peshitta English New Testament in a single volume. The English translations of the New Testament Syriac Peshitta were carried out by an international team of scholars. The volume is also available in a beautiful gilded leather edition (ISBN 978-1-4632-4217-6).

From $25.00