Asas al-Taqdis

Asās al-Taqdīs (Arabic: أساس التقديس, lit. 'The Foundation of Declaring Allah's Transcendence'), also known as Ta'sis al-Taqdis (Arabic: تأسيس التقديس, lit. 'The Establishment of the Sacred') is an Islamic theological book, written by the Shafi'i-Ash'ari scholar Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 606/1209), as a methodical refutation of the Karramiyya and other anthropomorphists.[1][2]

Fakhr al-Din al-Razi wrote this work to counter the book Kitab al-Tawhid composed by the ultra-traditionalist Ibn Khuzayma (d. 311/923). He referred to Ibn Khuzayma as 'the corporealist' (al-mujassim).[3]

He said in the book's introduction that he dedicated it especially to the Sultan Abu Bakr ibn Ayyub.

Content

The first part of the book opens with a categorical rejection of any corporeality regarding God, under the title of "Indications on God's Transcendence beyond Corporeality and on Him not Being Confined [by any spatial location]". That is, in fact, his definition of anthropomorphism: al-Razi maintains that the one God is not present in a direction; He is not a space-occupying entity and is not a body, an assertion for which he provides proofs based on rational and textual evidence.

Al-Razi raises numerous claims, which he then refutes. The claims he contradicts are namely those held by the corporealist Karramites and the ultra-traditionalists who affirmed God's direction (jiha) and its veridical meaning (as haqiqa: truth, reality). In his discussion al-Razi articulates the Ash'ari stance on this matter and explains the proper figurative interpretation (ta'wil), according to his opinion.[3]

Criticism

Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328) and his student Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751/1350) criticized and attacked the book. Ibn Taymiyya wrote a critical response to the book, entitled al-Ta'sis fi Radd Asas al-Taqdis (Arabic: التأسيس في رد أساس التقديس), better known as Bayan Talbis al-Jahmiyya (Arabic: بيان تلبيس الجهمية, lit. 'Explication of the Deceit of the Jahmiyya'), defended the position that God is in a direction and a body.[1][3][4][5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Gibril Fouad Haddad. "Al-Fakhr al-Razi". sunnah.org. As-Sunnah Foundation of America. Archived from the original on 31 Oct 2020.
  2. ^ Fakhr al-Din al-Razi. "Asas al-Taqdis". maktaba-falsafia.com (in Arabic). La Librairie de Philosophie et de Soufisme.
  3. ^ a b c Miriam Ovadia (2018). Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya and the Divine Attributes. Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science. Texts and Studies. Vol. 104. Brill Publishers. p. 288. ISBN 9789004372511.
  4. ^ Jon Hoover (21 Dec 2022). "God Spatially Above and Spatially Extended: The Rationality of Ibn Taymiyya's Refutation of Faḫr al-Dīn al-Rāzī's Ašʿarī Incorporealism". brill.com. Brill Publishers. Archived from the original on 24 Jan 2024.
  5. ^ Hasan al-Saqqaf (2002). السلفية الوهابية؛ أفكارها الأساسية وجذورها التاريخية [The Wahhabi-Salafism; Its Basic Ideas and Historical Roots] (PDF) (in Arabic). Beirut: Dar al-Imam al-Rawwas. p. 61 – via Internet Archive. ولئلا نطيل في ذلك لأن فيه طولاً نقتصر فننقل نصوصاً لابن تيمية من كتبه تثبت بأنه كان يقول بالتجسيم والتشبيه فنقول: من أعجب ما قرأناه لابن تيمية قوله في كتابه «بيان تلبيس الجهمية» أو المسمى أيضاً «نقض أساس التقديس» !! (۱۰۹/۱) ما نصه: «وإذا كان كذلك فاسم المشبهة ليس له ذكر بذم في الكتاب والسنة ولا كلام أحد من الصحابة والتابعين...». وقال قبل ذلك ص (۱۰۰ - ۱۰۱) ناقلاً مُقراً: «والموصوف بهذه الصفات لا يكون إلا جسماً فالله تعالى جسم لا كالأجسام» وقال ص (۱۰۱): «وليس في كتاب الله ولا سنة رسوله ولا قول أحد من سلف الأمة وأئمتها أنه ليس بجسم، وأن صفاته ليست أجساماً ولا أعراضاً، فنفي المعاني الثابتة بالشرع والعقل؛ بنفي ألفاظ لم ينف معناها شرع ولا عقل، جهل وضلال». فهذا تصريح واضح بعقيدة التجسيم والتشبيه أعاذنا الله تعالى من ذلك.