Al-Qushayrī’s Teleological Theology
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Badreldeen Ismail
About this book
Abū al-Qāsim al-Qushayrī’s (d. 465/1072) theological oeuvres remain eclipsed by his celebrated achievements in Sufism, with prevailing scholarly assertions that he is a mere repeater of Ashʿarite views and that his theology plays an apologetic role within al-Risālat al-Qushayriyya, anchoring its esoteric content to orthodoxy. Against this backdrop, the present study investigates al-Qushayrī’s theology, in the light of intellectual developments in the fourth-fifth/tenth-eleventh centuries. His views are critically analysed on prominent epochal issues across his three most voluminous theological creeds, Lumaʿ fī al-iʿtiqād, al-Fuṣūl fī al-uṣūl and al-Risāla. Key topics include God’s attributes; His relationship with man; and epistemological concerns. The thesis argues that al-Qushayrī’s theology is, contrary to prevailing views, neither homogenous, nor entirely Ashʿarite. It reveals that his variegated theology is shaped by teleological forces. Al-Lumaʿ shows a traditionalist bent, whereas al-Fuṣūl is distinctly semi-rationalist. In al-Risāla, he lays the foundations of a mystical theology that governs the Sufi schema, whilst simultaneously delimiting the relevance of Ashʿarite doctrines to the mere confines of the masses.
Author / Editor information
Baldredeen Ismail, The Classical Institute, Birmingham, UK.
Topics
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Frontmatter
I -
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Acknowledgment
VII -
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Contents
IX -
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Al-Qushayrī’s Under-Explored Theological Legacy
1 -
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Chapter 1: Al-Qushayrī’s Defining Milieu
16 -
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Chapter 2: Key Features Of Ashʿarite Evolution
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Chapter 3: On God’s Attributes
47 -
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Chapter 4: On God’s Relationship With Man
92 -
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Chapter 5: On Epistemology
132 -
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Al-Qushayrī’s Theological Synthesis: Bridging Orthodoxy and Esotericism
183 -
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Bibliography
189 -
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Index
199
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