A Medieval Critique Of Anthropomorphism: Ibn Al-Jawzis

This study consists of a critical edition of Ibn al-Jawzi?s Kitab Akhbar as-Sifat (KAS) along with an annotated translation and introduction. KAS is a critique of anthropomorphic conceptions of God, directed in the first instance against Ibn al-Jawzi?s fellow Hanbali, but also against Sunni traditionalists more generally. As an intra-Hanbalir polemic, KAS sheds important new light on the intellectual fault-lines within medieval Hanbalism, and reveals the extent to which kalam had penetrated the Hanbalite school by the 12th century. In his work, Ibn al- Jawzi?s makes extensive use of kalam, drawing on its technical language and crafting his arguments against anthropomorphism on the basis of the dialectical methods developed within the great theological schools of medieval Islam. The study also contains a translation of al-^cAlthis Risala, a pointed response to Ibn al-Jawzi, written by a fellow Hanbali from a traditionalist perspective

About The Author:

Merlin Swartz, Ph.D. (1967) in Islamic Studies, Harvard University, is a member of the Arts and Science Faculty, Boston University and is Professor of Islamic Studies. He is the author of a number of works on medieval Islam, and is presently working on a study dealing with the tradition of Arabic rhetoric and the medieval homily.

Table Of Contents:

PrefaceAbbreviationsIbn al-Jawzi: A Biographical Sketch3Authorship and Date of Composition33The Argument of Kitab Akhbar as-Sifat46The Manuscript: A Brief Description65The Place of Reason in Matters of Faith and the Problem of Anthropomorphism77Quranic Verses Relating to the Divine Attributes139Traditions Concerning the Divine Attributes170AppA Hanbali Response to Ibn al-Jawzis Defense of Tawil: The Risala of Abul-Fadl al-Althi282Bibliography299Index319

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A Medieval Critique of Anthropomorphism