THE BOOK
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
1 EARLY CAREER AND THE MONGOL INVASIONS
The Formative Years
Appearance, Character, and Personal Relationships
Early Engagements with Religious Law
Early Engagements with Theology
The Mongol Invasion of 1299-1300
The Mongol Invasions of 1300-1301 and 1303
Christians in the Wake of the Mongols
2 LATER CAREER AND MAJOR TRIALS
Conflicts with Sufis
The 1306 Damascus Trials over Theology
Imprisonments in Egypt over Theology and Sufism 1306-1310
Final Years in Egypt 1310-1313
Back in Damascus Teaching and Writing
The 1318 Nusayri Revolt
Trials over Divorce Oaths
Final Imprisonment over Grave Visitation 1326-1328
3 THE PRIORITY OF WORSHIP
Worship and the Human Natural Constitution
A Spirituality of Love
Divinity and Lordship
Command and Creation
Sainthood
4 WORSHIP, LAW, AND INNOVATION
Worship and the Law
Worship Rituals: Lawful and Innovated
Spiritual Concert and Annihilation
Benefit and the Law
Innovated Festivals and the Prophet’s Birthday
Grave Visitation and Intercession
Ibn Taymiyya and Sufism
5 JURISTIC AUTHORITY AND DERIVING GOD’S LAW
The Sunni Law School System
Back to the Qur’an and the Sunna
Forbidding Chess
Invalidating Triple Divorce
6 UTILITARIAN SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ETHICS
Social Ethics
The Caliphate
Public Authority and the Law
Law-Guided Public Policy
Trusts of public office and public wealth
Justice: the limits and rights of God and humans
Jihad
7 GOD AND CREATION
Kalam Theology
Esotericism
Non-cognitivism
Apologetic Interpretativism
God is Sitting Over the Throne
The Timelessly Eternal God of Philosophy and Kalam
God Wills for Wise Purposes and Creates from Eternity
8 GOD AND HUMANITY
Justice, Evil, and the Human Act
God’s Protection of Prophets
The Signs of a True Prophet
Christianity: An Object Lesson in Innovated Religion
The Ultimate Destiny of Unbelievers
9 EPILOGUE
Bibliography
Index
REVIEWS
‘Finally, Ibn Taymiyya, who is one of the most influential thinkers in Islam today, gets his first critical introduction in a Western language. And a really good one: Hoover’s book manages a well-readable balance between broad analysis and a presentation that is rich in details.’
‘At last, a book that comes close to solving the enigma of Ibn Taymiyya. Drawing on Jon Hoover’s unparalleled knowledge of the Taymiyyan corpus, this is a measured, erudite and plainly accessible intellectual biography of the most fiercely contested scholar of medieval Islam. Hoover shows that Ibn Taymiyya is not always what his modern admirers and detractors make him out to be. If you want to understand Ibn Taymiyya in his own words and in his own time, this concise book is where you should start.’
‘Jon Hoover has produced an exquisite introduction to the complex thought of Ibn Taymiyya, one the world’s greatest scholars. This book provides the best path for understanding Ibn Taymiyya’s life, his struggles with the ruling authorities and with other scholars, as well as how he conceived of Islam (its law, theology and theodicy) as being centered on worship of God alone. Hoover has captured Ibn Taymiyya’s ideas better than any other scholar I know.’
‘Written by a leading scholar in the field, this book emancipates Ibn Taymiyya from his contested legacies. With a rigorous investigation of the sources and a good grasp of the latest research, it is a most welcome effort to bring together all aspects of Ibn Taymiyya’s turbulent life and challenging thought. Written in an accessible style, it is an insightful introduction to one of the most powerful Muslim minds of all time. Students and scholars approaching the subject will not be able to do without it.’
Categories: Ibn Taymiyya, Islam, Recommended reading
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