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A Medieval Critique of Anthropomorphism
Ibn al-Jawzī's
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This study consists of a critical edition of Ibn al-JawzÄ«âs KitÄb AkhbÄr as-SifÄt (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-JawzÄ«âs fellow HanbalÄ«, but also against SunnÄ« traditionalists more generally. As an intra-HanbalÄ«r polemic, KAS sheds important new light on the intellectual fault-lines within medieval Hanbalism, and reveals the extent to which kalÄm had penetrated the Hanbalite school by the 12th century. In his work, Ibn al- JawzÄ«âs makes extensive use of kalÄm, 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-Ê¿AlthÄ«'s RisÄla, a pointed response to Ibn al-JawzÄ«, written by a fellow HanbalÄ« from a traditionalist perspective.
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.