Al-Qadi Abd al-Jabbar
Al-Qadi Abd al-Jabbar | |
|---|---|
| Personal | |
| Born | Abu al-Hasan ʿAbd al-Jabbar ibn Ahmad ibn Khalil ibn ʿAbdallah al-Hamadani al-Asadabadi 935 CE |
| Died | 1025 CE |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Mu'tazilite |
| Creed | Shafi'i |
| Main interest(s) | Islamic Jurisprudence, Hadith, Theology |
| Notable idea(s) | Tawhid (Oneness of God), 'Adl (Divine Justice) |
| Notable work(s) | Kitab al-Mughni fi Abwab al-Tawhid wa l-'Adl, Sharh al-Usul al-Khamsa, Tathbit Dala'il Nubuwwat Sayyidina Muhammad |
| Senior posting | |
Influenced by | |
Abu al-Hasan ʿAbd al-Jabbar ibn Ahmad ibn Khalil ibn ʿAbdallah al-Hamadani al-Asadabadi(935 CE – 1025 CE) was an Islamic jurist and hadith scholar who is remembered as theQadi al-Qudat(Chief Magistrate) of theBuyid dynastyand the last great scholar of theMu'taziliteschool of Islamic theology, and a reported follower of theShafi‘ischool.[1][2]Abd al-Jabbar means "Servant ofal-Jabbar(the Almighty). "[3]TheMu'tazilacall him "Qadi al-Qudat" (قاضي القضاة) and do not give this title to anyone else.[4]
He was born inAsadabadnearHamadan,Iran.He settled inBaghdad,until he was invited toReyin 367AH/978 CE by its governor,Sahib ibn Abbad,a staunch supporter of theMu'tazilatheological movement. He was appointed chiefQadiof the province. On the death of ibn 'Abbad in 995 CE, Abd al-Jabbar was deposed and arrested by the Buyid Amir,Fakhr al-Dawla,because of a slighting remark made by him about his deceased benefactor. He died later in 415AH/1025 CE.
Qadi ʿAbd al-Jabbar'smagnum opus,theKitab al-mughni fi abwab al-tawhid wa l-ʿadl(Book of the plenitude on the topics concerning unity and justice), often shortened toal-Mughni,is a comprehensive twenty volume "summa"of Mu'tazilite theology of the same magnitude asSt. Thomas Aquinas'sSumma TheologicaandSumma Contra Gentiles.[1]It presentedMu'tazilithought under the two headings of God's oneness (tawhid) and his justice (adl). He argued that theAsh'ariteseparation between the eternal speech of God and the created words of theQur'anmade God's will unknowable.
He and his Mu’tazilite circle were contemporaries ofIbn Sina(better known in the West as Avicenna).[5]
Works
[edit]Qadi Abd al-Jabbar was the author of more than 70 books.[6]
- Kitāb Al-Mughnī Fī Abwāb Al-Tawḥīd wa Al-'Adl ( المغني في أبواب التوحيد والعدل )
- Sharḥ to Ibn Khallād's Kitāb al-Uṣūl (which is lost)
- Sharḥ al-Uṣūl al-Khamsa (شرح الاصول الخمسة) ('The Explication of the Five Principles'). (While this is lost, this book received commentaries by twoZaydiauthors, which have survived.)[7][8]
Tathbit Dala’il
[edit]Abd Al-Jabbar produced an anti-Christian polemic textTathbit Dala’il Nubuwwat Sayyidina Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم,(‘The Establishment of Proofs for the Prophethood of Our Master Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم’).[9]
English translations
[edit]- Critique of Christian Origins: a parallel English-Arabic text,edited, translated, and annotated by Gabriel Said Reynolds and Samir Khalil Samir, Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 2010.
References
[edit]- ^abMartin, Richard; Woodward, Mark; Atmaja, Dwi (1997).Defenders of Reason in Islam: Mu'tazilism from Medieval School to Modern Symbol.Oneworld. p. 49.
- ^Jane Dammen McAuliffe.Encyclopaedia of the Qurʼān.2003, volume 3. Page 439. Article by Claude Gilliot.
- ^Juan Eduardo Campo.Encyclopedia of Islam(2009). Page 515. "The Quran states, “The most beautiful names belong to God (Allah) so call on him by them; but shun such men as use profanity in his names: for what they... of God), Abd al-Salam (Servant of Peace), or Abd al-Jabbar (Servant of the Powerful)."
- ^Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyah: Page 220
- ^Ruffus, Anthony; McGinnis, Jon (2015-01-28)."Willful Understanding: Avicenna's Philosophy of Action and Theory of the Will"(PDF).Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie.97(2): 160–195.doi:10.1515/agph-2015-0007.ISSN0003-9101.
- ^Kifayat Ullah,Al-Kashshaf: Al-Zamakhshari's Mu'tazilite Exegesis of the Qur'an,de Gruyter (2017), p. 110
- ^Lika, Eva-Maria (7 November 2017).Proofs of Prophecy and the Refutation of the Isma'iliyya: The Kitab Ithbat nubuwwat al-nabi by the Zaydi al-Mu'ayyad bi-Ilah al-Haruni (D. 411/1020).ISBN9783110541793.
- ^Dhanani, Alnoor (July 1, 2014)."Basran Mu'tazilite Theology: Abu 'Ali Muhammad b. Khallad's Kitab al-Usul and Its Reception".The Journal of the American Oriental Society.134(3): 548–550.doi:10.7817/jameroriesoci.134.3.548– via go.gale.
- ^'Abd al-Jabbar, Tathbit dalailal- nubuwwa, ed. 'A. 'Uthman, 2 vols., Beirut 1966
External links
[edit]- W. Madelung."ʿABD-AL-JABBĀR B. AḤMAD".Encyclopaedia Iranica.
