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A Muslim Theologian in the Sectarian Milieu
Ê¿Abd al-JabbÄr and the Critique of Christian Origins
Series: - Islamic History and Civilization, Volume: 56
Author:
In 385 AH/AD 995 the QÄá¸Ä« âAbd al-JabbÄr, well known for his MuâtazilÄ« theological writings, wrote the Confirmation of the Proofs of Prophecy, a work that includes a creative polemic against Christianity. âAbd al-JabbÄr reinterprets the Bible, Church history (especially the lives of Paul and Constantine) and Christian practice to argue that Christians changed the Islamic religion of Jesus.
The present work begins with an examination of the controversial theory that this polemic was borrowed from an unkown Judaeo-Christian group. The author argues that âAbd al-JabbÄr's polemic is better understood as a response to his particular milieu and the on-going inter-religious debates of the medieval Islamic world. By examining the life and thought of âAbd al-JabbÄr, along with the Islamic, Christian and Jewish antecedants to his polemic, the author uncovers the intimate relationship between sectarian controversy and the development of an Islamic doctrine on Christianity.
The present work begins with an examination of the controversial theory that this polemic was borrowed from an unkown Judaeo-Christian group. The author argues that âAbd al-JabbÄr's polemic is better understood as a response to his particular milieu and the on-going inter-religious debates of the medieval Islamic world. By examining the life and thought of âAbd al-JabbÄr, along with the Islamic, Christian and Jewish antecedants to his polemic, the author uncovers the intimate relationship between sectarian controversy and the development of an Islamic doctrine on Christianity.
Gabriel Said Reynolds, Ph.D. (2003) in Islamic Studies, Yale University, is Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies and Theology at Notre Dame University. He works on Islamic origins and Christianity and has published Jesus, the Qââim, and the End of the World and Saint Thomasâ Islamic Challenges: Reflections on the Antiochene Questions.
This book is equally important to those interested in Islamic Studies (especially theology, medieval history, Muhammad), Muslim-Christian relations (in both the early and modern eras) and Biblical Studies (as non-canonical biblical passages are discussed).