Islamic Philosophy in the Maghreb during the Early Modern Period

Aḥmad al-Wallālī’s (d. 1716) Philosophy of Monotheism (Ashraf al-Maqāṣid)

Series: 

Author:
Ibrahim Safri
This monograph endeavors to chart the development of kalām and Islamic philosophy during the early modern Maghreb. The primary focus is on the Moroccan thinker Ibn Yaʿqūb al-Wallālī (d. 1716) and his text Ashraf al-Maqāṣid fī Sharḥ al-Maqāṣid. It sheds light on al-Wallālī’s contribution to Islamic philosophy by examining his interpretation of some topics in epistemology, metaphysics, and physics. It also involves the reception of al-Rāzī’s (d. 1210) and al-Taftāzānī’s (d. 1390) works in the Maghreb.
The book attempts to offer a re-evaluation of the prevailing claims in the scholarship that has dominated the region, asserting that the engagement with Islamic philosophy in the Maghreb continued beyond the time of al-Sanūsī (d. 1490).
Copyright Year:
2026
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Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-69920-5
Publication:
12 Sep 2025
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Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-69919-9
Publication:
18 Sep 2025
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Ibrahim Safri, Ph.D. (2024), Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin, is a Walter Benjamin fellow at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford, and a senior demy at Magdalen College, Oxford. He has published a monograph in Arabic logic in the early-modern Maghreb. His current research focuses on pre-modern Arabic natural philosophy.
Acknowledgement

Introduction

1 Al-Wallālī’s Biography
 1 Al-Wallālī’s Life, Education, and Career
 2 His tutors and masters (shuyūkh)
 3 His lectures
 4 His students
 5 His writings
 6 Al-Taftāzānī’s influence
 7 His scholarly standing
 8 Al-Wallālī’s aims
 9 Al-Wallālī’s biography in sources

2 The development of kalām in the Maghreb (1600–1800)
 1 The dominant doctrine in the Maghreb: Ashʿarīsm
 2 The curriculum in Marrakesh, Fez, Dilāʾiyya, and Meknes
 3 Description of Major Works and Scholars

3 Later Ashʿarīsm in the Maghreb
 1 Later Ashʿarīsm
 2 Later Ashʿarī kalām in the Maghreb
 3 The Contribution of Sultan Mūlāy Ismāʿīl (1082–1139/1672–1727)
 4 The reception of later Ashʿarī kalām texts

4 The Reception of al-Taftāzānī’s Maqāṣid in the Maghreb
 1 A brief account of al-Taftāzānī’s life, education, and works
 2 His theological orientation
 3 The core text: al-Taftāzānī’s Maqāṣid al-tālibīn fī uṣūl al-dīn
 4 Al-Taftāzānī’s reasons for composing al-Maqāṣid and its commentary
 5 Al-Wallālī’s contribution

5 Al-Wallālī’s Commentary on al-Maqāṣid
 1 The reasons for composing the commentary
 2 Ashraf al-Maqāṣid and Neo-Ashʿarī kalām
 3 Falsafat al-tawḥīd as a commentary on al-Taftāzānī’s al-Maqāṣid
 4 Al-Wallālī’s view on imitation in creeds
 5 Al-Wallālī’s View on mental existence
 6 Al-Wallālī’s reception of the theory of Motion

Conclusion

Bibliography
Index of Names
Index of Places
Index of Technical Terms
All those interested in Islamic philosophy, kalām, Maghrebi intellectual history, pre-modern and early modern Islamic intellectual history, natural philosophy, and history of philosophy.
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