Carl Sharif El-Tobgui (كارل شريف الطوبجي) | Brandeis University (original) (raw)
Books by Carl Sharif El-Tobgui (كارل شريف الطوبجي)
E.J. Brill -- Open Access (https://brill.com/view/title/55796), 2020
In "Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation," Carl Sharif El-Tobgui offers the first comprehensive ... more In "Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation," Carl Sharif El-Tobgui offers the first comprehensive study of Ibn Taymiyya's ten-volume magnum opus, Darʾ taʿāruḍ al-ʿaql wa-l-naql (Refutation of the contradiction of reason and revelation). In his colossal riposte to the Muslim philosophers and rationalist theologians, the towering Ḥanbalī polymath rejects the call to prioritize reason over revelation in cases of alleged conflict, interrogating instead the very conception of rationality that classical Muslims had inherited from the Greeks. In its place, he endeavors to articulate a reconstituted "pure reason" that is both truly universal and in full harmony with authentic revelation.
Based on a line-by-line reading of the entire Darʾ taʿāruḍ, El-Tobgui's study carefully elucidates the "philosophy of Ibn Taymiyya" as it emerges from the multifaceted ontological, epistemological, and linguistic reforms Ibn Taymiyya carries out in this pivotal work.
Published Articles by Carl Sharif El-Tobgui (كارل شريف الطوبجي)
Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies -- Open Access, 2018
This article analyzes the overarching themes and goals of Ibn Taymiyya's roughly forty arguments ... more This article analyzes the overarching themes and goals of Ibn Taymiyya's roughly forty arguments against the philosophers' and theologians' "Universal Law" for the figurative interpretation of scripture, to which he dedicates approximately 500 pages of his 10-volume Darʾ taʿāruḍ al-ʿaql wa'l-naql. While Ibn Taymiyya himself presents these arguments in a disjointed and seemingly random fashion, this study demonstrates that by carefully breaking down, regrouping, and reconstructing them, we can discern a coherent attempt on Ibn Taymiyya's part to reconfigure the very terms of the debate between reason and revelation in medieval Islam in several important ways. Firstly, he deconstructs what it means for reason to "ground" our knowledge of revelation. Next, he redefines the opposition at stake not as one of "reason vs. revelation" but as a purely epistemological question of certainty vs. conjecture, with both reason and revelation serving as potential sources of both kinds of knowledge. Finally, he builds on this insight to replace the dichotomy "sharʿī–ʿaqlī," in the sense of "revelational vs. rational," with the dichotomy "sharʿī– bidʿī," in the sense of "scripturally validated vs. scripturally non-validated," arguing that revelation itself both commends and exemplifies the valid use of reason and rational argumentation. By this move, Ibn Taymiyya attempts to introduce a new paradigm in which it is the epistemic quality of a piece of knowledge alone that counts, simultaneously subsuming reason itself into the larger category of "sharʿī," or revelationally validated, sources of knowledge.
Oriens, 2018
This article presents and analyzes Ibn Taymiyya’s views on tawātur in uṣūl al-fiqh and as the bas... more This article presents and analyzes Ibn Taymiyya’s views on tawātur in uṣūl al-fiqh and as the basis of a generalized epistemological system. In legal theory, Ibn Taymiyya expands the umbrella of what is “functionally equivalent to the mutawātir,” extending epistemic certainty to a wide range of religious knowledge. More originally, he expands tawātur beyond the realm of transmitted knowledge altogether, making it the final guarantor of all human cognition. Tawātur in this theory reveals the nature of the uncorrupted human intellect, underwriting the integrity even of the basic axioms of reason and the native intuitions of the sound human fiṭra.
Coming to Terms with the Qur'an: A volume in honor of Professor Issa Boullata, 2008
This article presents a detailed, commentated exposition of the understanding of Fakhr al-Dīn al-... more This article presents a detailed, commentated exposition of the understanding of Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1209) regarding the notion of muḥkam and mutashābih verses in the Qurʾān as evidenced in his titanic, 32-volume exegetical work Mafātīḥ al-ghayb (Keys to the unseen), also known as "al-Tafsīr al-kabīr" (The grand exegesis). The article focuses specifically on al-Rāzī's extensive commentary on Qurʾān 3:7, widely considered to be *the* verse on the subject of muḥkam and mutashābih in the revealed text. The article situates al-Rāzī's approach to this topic within larger medieval debates surrounding reason and revelation and demonstrates how a very influential later Ashʿarī thinker -- one who was no stranger to philosophical debate and method -- sought to navigate this tension in a manner he felt was both true to text and lived up to the highest norms of rational investigation.
UCLA Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law, 2003
The purpose of this essay is to sketch the outer contours of the epistemological universe in whic... more The purpose of this essay is to sketch the outer contours of the epistemological universe in which the science of legal theory and methodology, or uṣūl al-fiqh, was elaborated in classical Sunni Islam. This is accomplished by scrutinizing arguments both for and against two crucial components of that theory -- namely, qiyās and taʿlīl -- as presented by two major jurists of the 5th century of the Hijra. The jurists in question, who represent opposite ends of the Islamic theological spectrum, are the Ḥanafī Muʿtazilī jurist Abū al-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī (d. 436/1044) and the famous arch-Ẓāhirī Ibn Ḥazm (d. 456/1064). By analyzing the treatises on uṣūl al-fiqh of authors with such widely divergent theological orientations, this article draws out and maps the very crucial epistemological considerations which lie at the base of each author's stance.
Translations by Carl Sharif El-Tobgui (كارل شريف الطوبجي)
![Research paper thumbnail of Le livre des processions (transl. of "Kitab al-Mawakib," Jubran Khalil Jubran) [C.S. El-Tobgui]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/38618757/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](self-published (commissioned by Éditions Trait d'union, Montreal), 2001
This work is a French translation of Jubran Khalil Jubran's twenty-part, 203-line book of philoso... more This work is a French translation of Jubran Khalil Jubran's twenty-part, 203-line book of philosophic poetry in Arabic known as Kitāb al-Mawākib, or "The Book of Processions," originally published in 1919. Kitāb al-Mawākib, written in traditional rhyme and meter, consists of a dialogue between an old man and a youth on the edge of a forest. The old man expresses a gloomy philosophy of life, to which the carefree youth responds with optimism. Kitāb al-Mawākib is considered one of the great works of mahjar poetry and pioneered a new form of verse in Arabic. The work became especially popular as a piece to be sung, with Ch. 18 of the poem immortalized by Fayrouz in her famous "Aʿṭinī al-nāya wa-ghanni." The best-selling American poet of the 20th century, Khalil Jubran has been classed as one of the most widely read poets of all time.
Papers by Carl Sharif El-Tobgui (كارل شريف الطوبجي)
Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation, 2022
To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nad... more To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nadia: you have never failed to be there for me in every conceivable way. Your unshakeable belief in me, your constant encouragement and advice, your many prayers, and the myriad practical ways in which you have all so frequently stepped in to lighten the burden have been no less than critical to the instantiation of this work-a work that, indeed, belongs every bit as much to you as it does to me. À mes beaux-parents, M. Ahmed Nadifi et feu l' Honorable Zineb Talbi, et à mon beau-frère Si Karim: Nuls mots ne suffiraient à traduire l' immense reconnaissance que je porte envers vous. Nulles paroles ne sauraient égaler l' éloquence de vos gestes héroïques témoignés à mon égard: vos innombrables attentions, votre largesse sans bornes, la solidarité intégrale dont vous n'avez jamais cessé de me faire preuve. Dieu seul saurait m'acquitter de tout ce dont je vous suis redevable. I reserve a very special word of thanks to the incomparable Maysam al Faruqi, the most passionate and contagiously inspiring teacher I have ever encountered. Studying with Prof. al Faruqi as an undergraduate at Georgetown University years ago was the catalyst that propelled me onto the paths I currently tread. Her unexpected re-entry into my life at various critical junctures over the past decade has been nothing short of a godsend. Even a perfunctory account of the prodigious ways in which Prof. al Faruqi has gone far above any reasonable call of duty would likely necessitate an entire chapter unto itself. Suffice it therefore to say: no thanks will ever be enough. It seems customary to reserve the final spot for those who have made the greatest sacrifices and who thus merit the highest tribute and the profoundest acknowledgement of all: my beloved wife, Nadia-whose limitless capacity to nurture and encourage, whose unwavering constancy and faultless dedication, and whose inexhaustible stores of tender cheer and unyielding forbearance have never ceased to humble and to bewilder me-and those two glowing apples of my eye, my dearest Adnane and Amina, the lights of my life, on account of whom I may justly lay claim to the honorable epithet Dhū al-Nūrayn. Words cannot thank you enough, my dears, for having had so often to compete for the time and attention of your father with a relentlessly jealous computer screen. Together you three are my answer to the Qurʾānic supplication "Our Lord! Grant us spouses and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes."Bārak Allāhu fīkum! Wa-mā tawfīqī illā billāh
Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation, 2022
To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nad... more To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nadia: you have never failed to be there for me in every conceivable way. Your unshakeable belief in me, your constant encouragement and advice, your many prayers, and the myriad practical ways in which you have all so frequently stepped in to lighten the burden have been no less than critical to the instantiation of this work-a work that, indeed, belongs every bit as much to you as it does to me. À mes beaux-parents, M. Ahmed Nadifi et feu l' Honorable Zineb Talbi, et à mon beau-frère Si Karim: Nuls mots ne suffiraient à traduire l' immense reconnaissance que je porte envers vous. Nulles paroles ne sauraient égaler l' éloquence de vos gestes héroïques témoignés à mon égard: vos innombrables attentions, votre largesse sans bornes, la solidarité intégrale dont vous n'avez jamais cessé de me faire preuve. Dieu seul saurait m'acquitter de tout ce dont je vous suis redevable. I reserve a very special word of thanks to the incomparable Maysam al Faruqi, the most passionate and contagiously inspiring teacher I have ever encountered. Studying with Prof. al Faruqi as an undergraduate at Georgetown University years ago was the catalyst that propelled me onto the paths I currently tread. Her unexpected re-entry into my life at various critical junctures over the past decade has been nothing short of a godsend. Even a perfunctory account of the prodigious ways in which Prof. al Faruqi has gone far above any reasonable call of duty would likely necessitate an entire chapter unto itself. Suffice it therefore to say: no thanks will ever be enough. It seems customary to reserve the final spot for those who have made the greatest sacrifices and who thus merit the highest tribute and the profoundest acknowledgement of all: my beloved wife, Nadia-whose limitless capacity to nurture and encourage, whose unwavering constancy and faultless dedication, and whose inexhaustible stores of tender cheer and unyielding forbearance have never ceased to humble and to bewilder me-and those two glowing apples of my eye, my dearest Adnane and Amina, the lights of my life, on account of whom I may justly lay claim to the honorable epithet Dhū al-Nūrayn. Words cannot thank you enough, my dears, for having had so often to compete for the time and attention of your father with a relentlessly jealous computer screen. Together you three are my answer to the Qurʾānic supplication "Our Lord! Grant us spouses and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes."Bārak Allāhu fīkum! Wa-mā tawfīqī illā billāh
Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation, 2019
To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nad... more To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nadia: you have never failed to be there for me in every conceivable way. Your unshakeable belief in me, your constant encouragement and advice, your many prayers, and the myriad practical ways in which you have all so frequently stepped in to lighten the burden have been no less than critical to the instantiation of this work-a work that, indeed, belongs every bit as much to you as it does to me. À mes beaux-parents, M. Ahmed Nadifi et feu l' Honorable Zineb Talbi, et à mon beau-frère Si Karim: Nuls mots ne suffiraient à traduire l' immense reconnaissance que je porte envers vous. Nulles paroles ne sauraient égaler l' éloquence de vos gestes héroïques témoignés à mon égard: vos innombrables attentions, votre largesse sans bornes, la solidarité intégrale dont vous n'avez jamais cessé de me faire preuve. Dieu seul saurait m'acquitter de tout ce dont je vous suis redevable. I reserve a very special word of thanks to the incomparable Maysam al Faruqi, the most passionate and contagiously inspiring teacher I have ever encountered. Studying with Prof. al Faruqi as an undergraduate at Georgetown University years ago was the catalyst that propelled me onto the paths I currently tread. Her unexpected re-entry into my life at various critical junctures over the past decade has been nothing short of a godsend. Even a perfunctory account of the prodigious ways in which Prof. al Faruqi has gone far above any reasonable call of duty would likely necessitate an entire chapter unto itself. Suffice it therefore to say: no thanks will ever be enough. It seems customary to reserve the final spot for those who have made the greatest sacrifices and who thus merit the highest tribute and the profoundest acknowledgement of all: my beloved wife, Nadia-whose limitless capacity to nurture and encourage, whose unwavering constancy and faultless dedication, and whose inexhaustible stores of tender cheer and unyielding forbearance have never ceased to humble and to bewilder me-and those two glowing apples of my eye, my dearest Adnane and Amina, the lights of my life, on account of whom I may justly lay claim to the honorable epithet Dhū al-Nūrayn. Words cannot thank you enough, my dears, for having had so often to compete for the time and attention of your father with a relentlessly jealous computer screen. Together you three are my answer to the Qurʾānic supplication "Our Lord! Grant us spouses and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes."Bārak Allāhu fīkum! Wa-mā tawfīqī illā billāh
Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation, 2022
To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nad... more To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nadia: you have never failed to be there for me in every conceivable way. Your unshakeable belief in me, your constant encouragement and advice, your many prayers, and the myriad practical ways in which you have all so frequently stepped in to lighten the burden have been no less than critical to the instantiation of this work-a work that, indeed, belongs every bit as much to you as it does to me. À mes beaux-parents, M. Ahmed Nadifi et feu l' Honorable Zineb Talbi, et à mon beau-frère Si Karim: Nuls mots ne suffiraient à traduire l' immense reconnaissance que je porte envers vous. Nulles paroles ne sauraient égaler l' éloquence de vos gestes héroïques témoignés à mon égard: vos innombrables attentions, votre largesse sans bornes, la solidarité intégrale dont vous n'avez jamais cessé de me faire preuve. Dieu seul saurait m'acquitter de tout ce dont je vous suis redevable. I reserve a very special word of thanks to the incomparable Maysam al Faruqi, the most passionate and contagiously inspiring teacher I have ever encountered. Studying with Prof. al Faruqi as an undergraduate at Georgetown University years ago was the catalyst that propelled me onto the paths I currently tread. Her unexpected re-entry into my life at various critical junctures over the past decade has been nothing short of a godsend. Even a perfunctory account of the prodigious ways in which Prof. al Faruqi has gone far above any reasonable call of duty would likely necessitate an entire chapter unto itself. Suffice it therefore to say: no thanks will ever be enough. It seems customary to reserve the final spot for those who have made the greatest sacrifices and who thus merit the highest tribute and the profoundest acknowledgement of all: my beloved wife, Nadia-whose limitless capacity to nurture and encourage, whose unwavering constancy and faultless dedication, and whose inexhaustible stores of tender cheer and unyielding forbearance have never ceased to humble and to bewilder me-and those two glowing apples of my eye, my dearest Adnane and Amina, the lights of my life, on account of whom I may justly lay claim to the honorable epithet Dhū al-Nūrayn. Words cannot thank you enough, my dears, for having had so often to compete for the time and attention of your father with a relentlessly jealous computer screen. Together you three are my answer to the Qurʾānic supplication "Our Lord! Grant us spouses and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes."Bārak Allāhu fīkum! Wa-mā tawfīqī illā billāh
Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation, 2019
To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nad... more To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nadia: you have never failed to be there for me in every conceivable way. Your unshakeable belief in me, your constant encouragement and advice, your many prayers, and the myriad practical ways in which you have all so frequently stepped in to lighten the burden have been no less than critical to the instantiation of this work-a work that, indeed, belongs every bit as much to you as it does to me. À mes beaux-parents, M. Ahmed Nadifi et feu l' Honorable Zineb Talbi, et à mon beau-frère Si Karim: Nuls mots ne suffiraient à traduire l' immense reconnaissance que je porte envers vous. Nulles paroles ne sauraient égaler l' éloquence de vos gestes héroïques témoignés à mon égard: vos innombrables attentions, votre largesse sans bornes, la solidarité intégrale dont vous n'avez jamais cessé de me faire preuve. Dieu seul saurait m'acquitter de tout ce dont je vous suis redevable. I reserve a very special word of thanks to the incomparable Maysam al Faruqi, the most passionate and contagiously inspiring teacher I have ever encountered. Studying with Prof. al Faruqi as an undergraduate at Georgetown University years ago was the catalyst that propelled me onto the paths I currently tread. Her unexpected re-entry into my life at various critical junctures over the past decade has been nothing short of a godsend. Even a perfunctory account of the prodigious ways in which Prof. al Faruqi has gone far above any reasonable call of duty would likely necessitate an entire chapter unto itself. Suffice it therefore to say: no thanks will ever be enough. It seems customary to reserve the final spot for those who have made the greatest sacrifices and who thus merit the highest tribute and the profoundest acknowledgement of all: my beloved wife, Nadia-whose limitless capacity to nurture and encourage, whose unwavering constancy and faultless dedication, and whose inexhaustible stores of tender cheer and unyielding forbearance have never ceased to humble and to bewilder me-and those two glowing apples of my eye, my dearest Adnane and Amina, the lights of my life, on account of whom I may justly lay claim to the honorable epithet Dhū al-Nūrayn. Words cannot thank you enough, my dears, for having had so often to compete for the time and attention of your father with a relentlessly jealous computer screen. Together you three are my answer to the Qurʾānic supplication "Our Lord! Grant us spouses and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes."Bārak Allāhu fīkum! Wa-mā tawfīqī illā billāh
Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation, 2022
This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC 4.0 License. chapter 4... more This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC 4.0 License. chapter 4 Ṣaḥīḥ al-Manqūl, or What Is Revelation? Never did We send a messenger except [that he spoke] in the language of his people, that he might explain to them clearly. Qurʾān, Ibrāhīm 14:4 ∵ We have spoken in previous chapters of an alleged conflict between reason and revelation. Yet the notion that "reason" might contradict "revelation" means little until we define each of these two entities and determine exactly how it is that each one allegedly contradicts the other. When philosophers, theologians, and others assert a contradiction between reason and revelation, this typically means that what are taken to be the unimpeachable conclusions of reason are found to be incongruent with the "literal" (ḥaqīqa) or obvious (ẓāhir) sense of the revealed texts1 (and, most important for Ibn Taymiyya, what those texts assert about the nature and attributes of God). According to Ibn Taymiyya, such thinkers essentially take the rational faculty and its deliverances as primary and require that the language of the revealed texts be (re)interpreted in congruence with reason. In other words, for the philosophers and the rationalistic mutakallimūn, the meaning of revelation is ultimately determined not by anything inherent in the texts but on the basis of (allegedly) certain and universal rational conclusions that are reached independently of the texts. Such conclusions can-and, in fact, often do (to a greater or lesser extent depending on the school in question)-contradict the plain sense of revelation, which is then
Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation, 2022
Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies, 1970
This article analyzes the overarching themes and goals of Ibn Taymiyya’s roughly forty arguments ... more This article analyzes the overarching themes and goals of Ibn Taymiyya’s roughly forty arguments against the philosophers’ and theologians’ “Universal Law” for the figurative interpretation of scripture, to which he dedicates approximately 500 pages of his 10-volume Darʾ taʿāruḍ al-ʿaql wa’l-naql. While Ibn Taymiyya himself presents these arguments in a disjointed and seemingly random fashion, this study demonstrates that by carefully breaking down, regrouping, and reconstructing them, we can discern a coherent attempt on Ibn Taymiyya’s part to reconfigure the very terms of the debate between reason and revelation in medieval Islam in several important ways. Firstly, he deconstructs what it means for reason to “ground” our knowledge of revelation. Next, he redefines the opposition at stake not as one of “reason vs. revelation,” but as a purely epistemological question of certainty vs. conjecture, with both reason and revelation serving as potential sources of both kinds of knowledge...
UCLA J. Islamic & Near EL, 2003
... The reason for this, explains al-Basri, is that rational knowledge is more immediate, and the... more ... The reason for this, explains al-Basri, is that rational knowledge is more immediate, and therefore prior - both logically and temporally - to knowledge gained from the texts (li-anna 'l-'aqla asbaqu min al-sam').n19 Since that which leads to a thing (ie the sign) necessarily ...
Oriens, 2018
This article presents and analyzes Ibn Taymiyya's views on tawātur in uṣūl al-fiqh and as the bas... more This article presents and analyzes Ibn Taymiyya's views on tawātur in uṣūl al-fiqh and as the basis of a generalized epistemological system. In legal theory, Ibn Taymiyya expands the umbrella of what is "functionally equivalent to the mutawātir," extending epistemic certainty to a wide range of religious knowledge. More originally, he expands tawātur beyond the realm of transmitted knowledge altogether, making it the final guarantor of all human cognition. Tawātur in this theory reveals the nature of the uncorrupted human intellect, underwriting the integrity even of the basic axioms of reason and the native intuitions of the sound human fiṭra.
E.J. Brill -- Open Access (https://brill.com/view/title/55796), 2020
In "Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation," Carl Sharif El-Tobgui offers the first comprehensive ... more In "Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation," Carl Sharif El-Tobgui offers the first comprehensive study of Ibn Taymiyya's ten-volume magnum opus, Darʾ taʿāruḍ al-ʿaql wa-l-naql (Refutation of the contradiction of reason and revelation). In his colossal riposte to the Muslim philosophers and rationalist theologians, the towering Ḥanbalī polymath rejects the call to prioritize reason over revelation in cases of alleged conflict, interrogating instead the very conception of rationality that classical Muslims had inherited from the Greeks. In its place, he endeavors to articulate a reconstituted "pure reason" that is both truly universal and in full harmony with authentic revelation.
Based on a line-by-line reading of the entire Darʾ taʿāruḍ, El-Tobgui's study carefully elucidates the "philosophy of Ibn Taymiyya" as it emerges from the multifaceted ontological, epistemological, and linguistic reforms Ibn Taymiyya carries out in this pivotal work.
Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies -- Open Access, 2018
This article analyzes the overarching themes and goals of Ibn Taymiyya's roughly forty arguments ... more This article analyzes the overarching themes and goals of Ibn Taymiyya's roughly forty arguments against the philosophers' and theologians' "Universal Law" for the figurative interpretation of scripture, to which he dedicates approximately 500 pages of his 10-volume Darʾ taʿāruḍ al-ʿaql wa'l-naql. While Ibn Taymiyya himself presents these arguments in a disjointed and seemingly random fashion, this study demonstrates that by carefully breaking down, regrouping, and reconstructing them, we can discern a coherent attempt on Ibn Taymiyya's part to reconfigure the very terms of the debate between reason and revelation in medieval Islam in several important ways. Firstly, he deconstructs what it means for reason to "ground" our knowledge of revelation. Next, he redefines the opposition at stake not as one of "reason vs. revelation" but as a purely epistemological question of certainty vs. conjecture, with both reason and revelation serving as potential sources of both kinds of knowledge. Finally, he builds on this insight to replace the dichotomy "sharʿī–ʿaqlī," in the sense of "revelational vs. rational," with the dichotomy "sharʿī– bidʿī," in the sense of "scripturally validated vs. scripturally non-validated," arguing that revelation itself both commends and exemplifies the valid use of reason and rational argumentation. By this move, Ibn Taymiyya attempts to introduce a new paradigm in which it is the epistemic quality of a piece of knowledge alone that counts, simultaneously subsuming reason itself into the larger category of "sharʿī," or revelationally validated, sources of knowledge.
Oriens, 2018
This article presents and analyzes Ibn Taymiyya’s views on tawātur in uṣūl al-fiqh and as the bas... more This article presents and analyzes Ibn Taymiyya’s views on tawātur in uṣūl al-fiqh and as the basis of a generalized epistemological system. In legal theory, Ibn Taymiyya expands the umbrella of what is “functionally equivalent to the mutawātir,” extending epistemic certainty to a wide range of religious knowledge. More originally, he expands tawātur beyond the realm of transmitted knowledge altogether, making it the final guarantor of all human cognition. Tawātur in this theory reveals the nature of the uncorrupted human intellect, underwriting the integrity even of the basic axioms of reason and the native intuitions of the sound human fiṭra.
Coming to Terms with the Qur'an: A volume in honor of Professor Issa Boullata, 2008
This article presents a detailed, commentated exposition of the understanding of Fakhr al-Dīn al-... more This article presents a detailed, commentated exposition of the understanding of Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1209) regarding the notion of muḥkam and mutashābih verses in the Qurʾān as evidenced in his titanic, 32-volume exegetical work Mafātīḥ al-ghayb (Keys to the unseen), also known as "al-Tafsīr al-kabīr" (The grand exegesis). The article focuses specifically on al-Rāzī's extensive commentary on Qurʾān 3:7, widely considered to be *the* verse on the subject of muḥkam and mutashābih in the revealed text. The article situates al-Rāzī's approach to this topic within larger medieval debates surrounding reason and revelation and demonstrates how a very influential later Ashʿarī thinker -- one who was no stranger to philosophical debate and method -- sought to navigate this tension in a manner he felt was both true to text and lived up to the highest norms of rational investigation.
UCLA Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law, 2003
The purpose of this essay is to sketch the outer contours of the epistemological universe in whic... more The purpose of this essay is to sketch the outer contours of the epistemological universe in which the science of legal theory and methodology, or uṣūl al-fiqh, was elaborated in classical Sunni Islam. This is accomplished by scrutinizing arguments both for and against two crucial components of that theory -- namely, qiyās and taʿlīl -- as presented by two major jurists of the 5th century of the Hijra. The jurists in question, who represent opposite ends of the Islamic theological spectrum, are the Ḥanafī Muʿtazilī jurist Abū al-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī (d. 436/1044) and the famous arch-Ẓāhirī Ibn Ḥazm (d. 456/1064). By analyzing the treatises on uṣūl al-fiqh of authors with such widely divergent theological orientations, this article draws out and maps the very crucial epistemological considerations which lie at the base of each author's stance.
self-published (commissioned by Éditions Trait d'union, Montreal), 2001
This work is a French translation of Jubran Khalil Jubran's twenty-part, 203-line book of philoso... more This work is a French translation of Jubran Khalil Jubran's twenty-part, 203-line book of philosophic poetry in Arabic known as Kitāb al-Mawākib, or "The Book of Processions," originally published in 1919. Kitāb al-Mawākib, written in traditional rhyme and meter, consists of a dialogue between an old man and a youth on the edge of a forest. The old man expresses a gloomy philosophy of life, to which the carefree youth responds with optimism. Kitāb al-Mawākib is considered one of the great works of mahjar poetry and pioneered a new form of verse in Arabic. The work became especially popular as a piece to be sung, with Ch. 18 of the poem immortalized by Fayrouz in her famous "Aʿṭinī al-nāya wa-ghanni." The best-selling American poet of the 20th century, Khalil Jubran has been classed as one of the most widely read poets of all time.
Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation, 2022
To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nad... more To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nadia: you have never failed to be there for me in every conceivable way. Your unshakeable belief in me, your constant encouragement and advice, your many prayers, and the myriad practical ways in which you have all so frequently stepped in to lighten the burden have been no less than critical to the instantiation of this work-a work that, indeed, belongs every bit as much to you as it does to me. À mes beaux-parents, M. Ahmed Nadifi et feu l' Honorable Zineb Talbi, et à mon beau-frère Si Karim: Nuls mots ne suffiraient à traduire l' immense reconnaissance que je porte envers vous. Nulles paroles ne sauraient égaler l' éloquence de vos gestes héroïques témoignés à mon égard: vos innombrables attentions, votre largesse sans bornes, la solidarité intégrale dont vous n'avez jamais cessé de me faire preuve. Dieu seul saurait m'acquitter de tout ce dont je vous suis redevable. I reserve a very special word of thanks to the incomparable Maysam al Faruqi, the most passionate and contagiously inspiring teacher I have ever encountered. Studying with Prof. al Faruqi as an undergraduate at Georgetown University years ago was the catalyst that propelled me onto the paths I currently tread. Her unexpected re-entry into my life at various critical junctures over the past decade has been nothing short of a godsend. Even a perfunctory account of the prodigious ways in which Prof. al Faruqi has gone far above any reasonable call of duty would likely necessitate an entire chapter unto itself. Suffice it therefore to say: no thanks will ever be enough. It seems customary to reserve the final spot for those who have made the greatest sacrifices and who thus merit the highest tribute and the profoundest acknowledgement of all: my beloved wife, Nadia-whose limitless capacity to nurture and encourage, whose unwavering constancy and faultless dedication, and whose inexhaustible stores of tender cheer and unyielding forbearance have never ceased to humble and to bewilder me-and those two glowing apples of my eye, my dearest Adnane and Amina, the lights of my life, on account of whom I may justly lay claim to the honorable epithet Dhū al-Nūrayn. Words cannot thank you enough, my dears, for having had so often to compete for the time and attention of your father with a relentlessly jealous computer screen. Together you three are my answer to the Qurʾānic supplication "Our Lord! Grant us spouses and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes."Bārak Allāhu fīkum! Wa-mā tawfīqī illā billāh
Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation, 2022
To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nad... more To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nadia: you have never failed to be there for me in every conceivable way. Your unshakeable belief in me, your constant encouragement and advice, your many prayers, and the myriad practical ways in which you have all so frequently stepped in to lighten the burden have been no less than critical to the instantiation of this work-a work that, indeed, belongs every bit as much to you as it does to me. À mes beaux-parents, M. Ahmed Nadifi et feu l' Honorable Zineb Talbi, et à mon beau-frère Si Karim: Nuls mots ne suffiraient à traduire l' immense reconnaissance que je porte envers vous. Nulles paroles ne sauraient égaler l' éloquence de vos gestes héroïques témoignés à mon égard: vos innombrables attentions, votre largesse sans bornes, la solidarité intégrale dont vous n'avez jamais cessé de me faire preuve. Dieu seul saurait m'acquitter de tout ce dont je vous suis redevable. I reserve a very special word of thanks to the incomparable Maysam al Faruqi, the most passionate and contagiously inspiring teacher I have ever encountered. Studying with Prof. al Faruqi as an undergraduate at Georgetown University years ago was the catalyst that propelled me onto the paths I currently tread. Her unexpected re-entry into my life at various critical junctures over the past decade has been nothing short of a godsend. Even a perfunctory account of the prodigious ways in which Prof. al Faruqi has gone far above any reasonable call of duty would likely necessitate an entire chapter unto itself. Suffice it therefore to say: no thanks will ever be enough. It seems customary to reserve the final spot for those who have made the greatest sacrifices and who thus merit the highest tribute and the profoundest acknowledgement of all: my beloved wife, Nadia-whose limitless capacity to nurture and encourage, whose unwavering constancy and faultless dedication, and whose inexhaustible stores of tender cheer and unyielding forbearance have never ceased to humble and to bewilder me-and those two glowing apples of my eye, my dearest Adnane and Amina, the lights of my life, on account of whom I may justly lay claim to the honorable epithet Dhū al-Nūrayn. Words cannot thank you enough, my dears, for having had so often to compete for the time and attention of your father with a relentlessly jealous computer screen. Together you three are my answer to the Qurʾānic supplication "Our Lord! Grant us spouses and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes."Bārak Allāhu fīkum! Wa-mā tawfīqī illā billāh
Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation, 2019
To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nad... more To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nadia: you have never failed to be there for me in every conceivable way. Your unshakeable belief in me, your constant encouragement and advice, your many prayers, and the myriad practical ways in which you have all so frequently stepped in to lighten the burden have been no less than critical to the instantiation of this work-a work that, indeed, belongs every bit as much to you as it does to me. À mes beaux-parents, M. Ahmed Nadifi et feu l' Honorable Zineb Talbi, et à mon beau-frère Si Karim: Nuls mots ne suffiraient à traduire l' immense reconnaissance que je porte envers vous. Nulles paroles ne sauraient égaler l' éloquence de vos gestes héroïques témoignés à mon égard: vos innombrables attentions, votre largesse sans bornes, la solidarité intégrale dont vous n'avez jamais cessé de me faire preuve. Dieu seul saurait m'acquitter de tout ce dont je vous suis redevable. I reserve a very special word of thanks to the incomparable Maysam al Faruqi, the most passionate and contagiously inspiring teacher I have ever encountered. Studying with Prof. al Faruqi as an undergraduate at Georgetown University years ago was the catalyst that propelled me onto the paths I currently tread. Her unexpected re-entry into my life at various critical junctures over the past decade has been nothing short of a godsend. Even a perfunctory account of the prodigious ways in which Prof. al Faruqi has gone far above any reasonable call of duty would likely necessitate an entire chapter unto itself. Suffice it therefore to say: no thanks will ever be enough. It seems customary to reserve the final spot for those who have made the greatest sacrifices and who thus merit the highest tribute and the profoundest acknowledgement of all: my beloved wife, Nadia-whose limitless capacity to nurture and encourage, whose unwavering constancy and faultless dedication, and whose inexhaustible stores of tender cheer and unyielding forbearance have never ceased to humble and to bewilder me-and those two glowing apples of my eye, my dearest Adnane and Amina, the lights of my life, on account of whom I may justly lay claim to the honorable epithet Dhū al-Nūrayn. Words cannot thank you enough, my dears, for having had so often to compete for the time and attention of your father with a relentlessly jealous computer screen. Together you three are my answer to the Qurʾānic supplication "Our Lord! Grant us spouses and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes."Bārak Allāhu fīkum! Wa-mā tawfīqī illā billāh
Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation, 2022
To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nad... more To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nadia: you have never failed to be there for me in every conceivable way. Your unshakeable belief in me, your constant encouragement and advice, your many prayers, and the myriad practical ways in which you have all so frequently stepped in to lighten the burden have been no less than critical to the instantiation of this work-a work that, indeed, belongs every bit as much to you as it does to me. À mes beaux-parents, M. Ahmed Nadifi et feu l' Honorable Zineb Talbi, et à mon beau-frère Si Karim: Nuls mots ne suffiraient à traduire l' immense reconnaissance que je porte envers vous. Nulles paroles ne sauraient égaler l' éloquence de vos gestes héroïques témoignés à mon égard: vos innombrables attentions, votre largesse sans bornes, la solidarité intégrale dont vous n'avez jamais cessé de me faire preuve. Dieu seul saurait m'acquitter de tout ce dont je vous suis redevable. I reserve a very special word of thanks to the incomparable Maysam al Faruqi, the most passionate and contagiously inspiring teacher I have ever encountered. Studying with Prof. al Faruqi as an undergraduate at Georgetown University years ago was the catalyst that propelled me onto the paths I currently tread. Her unexpected re-entry into my life at various critical junctures over the past decade has been nothing short of a godsend. Even a perfunctory account of the prodigious ways in which Prof. al Faruqi has gone far above any reasonable call of duty would likely necessitate an entire chapter unto itself. Suffice it therefore to say: no thanks will ever be enough. It seems customary to reserve the final spot for those who have made the greatest sacrifices and who thus merit the highest tribute and the profoundest acknowledgement of all: my beloved wife, Nadia-whose limitless capacity to nurture and encourage, whose unwavering constancy and faultless dedication, and whose inexhaustible stores of tender cheer and unyielding forbearance have never ceased to humble and to bewilder me-and those two glowing apples of my eye, my dearest Adnane and Amina, the lights of my life, on account of whom I may justly lay claim to the honorable epithet Dhū al-Nūrayn. Words cannot thank you enough, my dears, for having had so often to compete for the time and attention of your father with a relentlessly jealous computer screen. Together you three are my answer to the Qurʾānic supplication "Our Lord! Grant us spouses and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes."Bārak Allāhu fīkum! Wa-mā tawfīqī illā billāh
Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation, 2019
To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nad... more To my ever loving and unflinchingly supportive parents and to my wonderful sisters, Magda and Nadia: you have never failed to be there for me in every conceivable way. Your unshakeable belief in me, your constant encouragement and advice, your many prayers, and the myriad practical ways in which you have all so frequently stepped in to lighten the burden have been no less than critical to the instantiation of this work-a work that, indeed, belongs every bit as much to you as it does to me. À mes beaux-parents, M. Ahmed Nadifi et feu l' Honorable Zineb Talbi, et à mon beau-frère Si Karim: Nuls mots ne suffiraient à traduire l' immense reconnaissance que je porte envers vous. Nulles paroles ne sauraient égaler l' éloquence de vos gestes héroïques témoignés à mon égard: vos innombrables attentions, votre largesse sans bornes, la solidarité intégrale dont vous n'avez jamais cessé de me faire preuve. Dieu seul saurait m'acquitter de tout ce dont je vous suis redevable. I reserve a very special word of thanks to the incomparable Maysam al Faruqi, the most passionate and contagiously inspiring teacher I have ever encountered. Studying with Prof. al Faruqi as an undergraduate at Georgetown University years ago was the catalyst that propelled me onto the paths I currently tread. Her unexpected re-entry into my life at various critical junctures over the past decade has been nothing short of a godsend. Even a perfunctory account of the prodigious ways in which Prof. al Faruqi has gone far above any reasonable call of duty would likely necessitate an entire chapter unto itself. Suffice it therefore to say: no thanks will ever be enough. It seems customary to reserve the final spot for those who have made the greatest sacrifices and who thus merit the highest tribute and the profoundest acknowledgement of all: my beloved wife, Nadia-whose limitless capacity to nurture and encourage, whose unwavering constancy and faultless dedication, and whose inexhaustible stores of tender cheer and unyielding forbearance have never ceased to humble and to bewilder me-and those two glowing apples of my eye, my dearest Adnane and Amina, the lights of my life, on account of whom I may justly lay claim to the honorable epithet Dhū al-Nūrayn. Words cannot thank you enough, my dears, for having had so often to compete for the time and attention of your father with a relentlessly jealous computer screen. Together you three are my answer to the Qurʾānic supplication "Our Lord! Grant us spouses and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes."Bārak Allāhu fīkum! Wa-mā tawfīqī illā billāh
Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation, 2022
This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC 4.0 License. chapter 4... more This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC 4.0 License. chapter 4 Ṣaḥīḥ al-Manqūl, or What Is Revelation? Never did We send a messenger except [that he spoke] in the language of his people, that he might explain to them clearly. Qurʾān, Ibrāhīm 14:4 ∵ We have spoken in previous chapters of an alleged conflict between reason and revelation. Yet the notion that "reason" might contradict "revelation" means little until we define each of these two entities and determine exactly how it is that each one allegedly contradicts the other. When philosophers, theologians, and others assert a contradiction between reason and revelation, this typically means that what are taken to be the unimpeachable conclusions of reason are found to be incongruent with the "literal" (ḥaqīqa) or obvious (ẓāhir) sense of the revealed texts1 (and, most important for Ibn Taymiyya, what those texts assert about the nature and attributes of God). According to Ibn Taymiyya, such thinkers essentially take the rational faculty and its deliverances as primary and require that the language of the revealed texts be (re)interpreted in congruence with reason. In other words, for the philosophers and the rationalistic mutakallimūn, the meaning of revelation is ultimately determined not by anything inherent in the texts but on the basis of (allegedly) certain and universal rational conclusions that are reached independently of the texts. Such conclusions can-and, in fact, often do (to a greater or lesser extent depending on the school in question)-contradict the plain sense of revelation, which is then
Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation, 2022
Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies, 1970
This article analyzes the overarching themes and goals of Ibn Taymiyya’s roughly forty arguments ... more This article analyzes the overarching themes and goals of Ibn Taymiyya’s roughly forty arguments against the philosophers’ and theologians’ “Universal Law” for the figurative interpretation of scripture, to which he dedicates approximately 500 pages of his 10-volume Darʾ taʿāruḍ al-ʿaql wa’l-naql. While Ibn Taymiyya himself presents these arguments in a disjointed and seemingly random fashion, this study demonstrates that by carefully breaking down, regrouping, and reconstructing them, we can discern a coherent attempt on Ibn Taymiyya’s part to reconfigure the very terms of the debate between reason and revelation in medieval Islam in several important ways. Firstly, he deconstructs what it means for reason to “ground” our knowledge of revelation. Next, he redefines the opposition at stake not as one of “reason vs. revelation,” but as a purely epistemological question of certainty vs. conjecture, with both reason and revelation serving as potential sources of both kinds of knowledge...
UCLA J. Islamic & Near EL, 2003
... The reason for this, explains al-Basri, is that rational knowledge is more immediate, and the... more ... The reason for this, explains al-Basri, is that rational knowledge is more immediate, and therefore prior - both logically and temporally - to knowledge gained from the texts (li-anna 'l-'aqla asbaqu min al-sam').n19 Since that which leads to a thing (ie the sign) necessarily ...
Oriens, 2018
This article presents and analyzes Ibn Taymiyya's views on tawātur in uṣūl al-fiqh and as the bas... more This article presents and analyzes Ibn Taymiyya's views on tawātur in uṣūl al-fiqh and as the basis of a generalized epistemological system. In legal theory, Ibn Taymiyya expands the umbrella of what is "functionally equivalent to the mutawātir," extending epistemic certainty to a wide range of religious knowledge. More originally, he expands tawātur beyond the realm of transmitted knowledge altogether, making it the final guarantor of all human cognition. Tawātur in this theory reveals the nature of the uncorrupted human intellect, underwriting the integrity even of the basic axioms of reason and the native intuitions of the sound human fiṭra.
Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation