Final Report Summary - RATIONALISM (Rediscovering Theological Rationalism in the Medieval World of Islam)
Within the broad range of the project, all major desiderata have been identified and the following domains have been envisaged, with focus on critical and facsimile editions and analyses of Muʿtazilite key texts, by Muslim, Jewish and Samaritan authors, including manuscript materials housed by Jewish Genizah collections; and critical and facsimile editions of Ašʿarite works as well as analyses of selected Ašʿarite authors, works and strands, including their reception among Christian (Coptic, Syriac) and Jewish writers. At the beginning of the project, about 60 subprojects were defined within the above-mentioned domains. Most of these subprojects have been executed by several members of the team, some were individual projects. In selected cases, colleagues from outside the project were invited to join in. In two cases, a fruitful collaboration was set up with another ERC project, directed by M. Fierro (KOHEPOCU).
In all domains of the project a major task had been to locate and collect the relevant manuscript materials. The collections that were most important for the project are located in St. Petersburg, Yemen, Istanbul, Tashkent, Iran, Europe and the US. Both the PI and her team members spent extended periods in situ. For the domains of Muʿtazilism and Ašʿarism the texts to be edited were identified, and palaeographical and codicological studies of selected codices as well as analyses of pertinent works and authors have been produced (all published). Editions of all works earmarked for critical edition have been prepared, some have already been published, others are currently in press or under review with the publisher. For Muʿtazilism (Muslim and Jewish), the following texts were singled out for critical edition: Ziyādāt Kitāb al-Uṣūl of al-Nāṭiq bi-l-ḥaqq (d. 1033); Nukat al-Muġnī of ʿAbd al-Ǧabbār (d. 1024); Ḥaqāʾiq al-ašyāʾ of the Zaydī theologian Ibn Šarwīn (all published); Abū ʿAlī al-Ǧubbāʾī’s (d. 915-16) al-Maqālāt; Ḍirār b. ʿAmr’s (d. ca. 815) Kitāb al-Taḥrīš; an anonymous early Bahšamite theological summa (MS Milan, Ambrosiana, ar. X 96 sup.); al-Kitāb al-Muḥīṭ of ʿAbd al-Ǧabbār; Šarḥ ʿUyūn al-masāʾil of al-Ḥākim al-Ǧišumī (d. 1101); al-Kitāb al-Muḥtawī and Kitāb al-Tamyīz of the Karaite Yūsuf al-Baṣīr; Kitāb al-Masāʾil fī l-uṣūl of Abū Rašīd al-Nīsābūrī; the theological writings of the Yemeni Zaydī theologian al-Ḥasan al-Raṣṣāṣ (d. 1188). For Ašʿarism, the following works were earmarked for critical edition: Hidāyat al-mustaršidīn of al-Bāqillānī (d. 1013); al-Šāmil of al-Ǧuwaynī (d. 1085); Nihāyat al-ʿuqūl by Faḫr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 1206). In some cases, particularly precious manuscripts were selected for facsimile publication, e.g. the unique (partial) copy of al-Ḫurāšī’s commentary on al-Ḥasan al-Raṣṣāṣ’ Taḥṣīl, or a so far unknown commentary on al-Šayḫ al-Ṭūsī’s Muqaddima. Moreover, while searching for texts relevant to the study of Muʿtazilism and Ašʿarism, new materials have been discovered that added new aspects to the ongoing research, e.g. the intellectual developments of the Zaydī communities in Iran and in Yemen beyond the 13th century CE. Work on Ašʿarism has been expanded in scope as a result of manuscript findings to document the formative interaction of Ašʿarism with other rational traditions, particularly that of Arabic philosophy. Moreover, during the research on Muʿtazilite manuscripts, a number of valuable materials emerged that testify to the Muslim reception of biblical materials. These have resulted in a subproject of its own.
During several trips to St. Petersburg, members of the team have gone through the relevant parts of the Firkovitch collections in search for Muʿtazilite materials. The texts that have been earmarked for critical edition are a comprehensive theological summa by the Būyid vizier al- Ṣāḥib b. ʿAbbād (d. 995), fragments of a commentary by ʿAbd al-Ǧabbār on a work devoted to the subtleties of rational theology (laṭīf alkalām) by Abū Hāšim al-Ǧubbāʾī (d. 933), Faḍl al-Tustarī’s al-Risāla al-Muhaḏḏabiyya, a theological summa of ʿAbd al-Ǧabbār’s student Qāḍī Labbād, and Sahl b. Faḍl al-Tustarī’s Īmā.
With relation to Ašʿarism, the libraries of Morocco, Istanbul, Tashkent, St. Petersburg and Iran (as well as most libraries in the West) have been searched for so far undiscovered Ašʿarite texts, and signifijicant fijinds have been made. Among the most important discoveries are two hitherto unknown fragments of al-Bāqillānī’s Hidāyat al-mustaršidīn, and a critical edition is forthcoming. Studies on selected Ašʿarite authors, works and their respective reception have been prepared (all published). The reception of Faḫr al-Dīn al-Razī and his writings, both among Muslim as well as Christian (Syriac and Coptic) authors, has been another focus of our work in the field of Ašʿarism.
With respect to Coptic doctrinal literature, two major studies were prepared, the first relating to Ibn al-Rāhib’s Burhān, containing an edition and analysis of the sections relating to the divine attributes and comparing the text with possible sources from Christian and non- Christian Arabic theological literature, and the second being a comprehensive study relating to the reception of Maimonides (d. 1204) and Faḫr al-Dīn al-Rāzī in Coptic Arabic literature. In addition, the following texts by Ibn al-Ṭayyib had been earmarked for critical edition:
Tiryāq al-ʿuqūl fī ʿilm al-uṣūl and Ḫulāṣat al-īmān al-masīḥī.
In all above-mentioned fields it has already been possible to overthrow established knowledge and to revise the “state of the art” significantly. The main reason for this is that the project has been able to draw at the same time on all relevant manuscript collections in the world, while earlier scholars as a rule only had partial access to the collections either in the West or in the Islamic world. Moreover, the cataloguing of most relevant collections is still at a rudimentary stage so that the systematic consultation of the various collections on the spot and for an extended period has allowed for the above-mentioned discoveries. In addition, it has been a particular advantage of the project that it simultaneously addresses Muslim, Jewish, Samaritan and Christian intellectual developments with particular attention to their close interrelatedness. This has allowed for major discoveries that had completely escaped the attention of earlier scholarship.
In all domains of the project a major task had been to locate and collect the relevant manuscript materials. The collections that were most important for the project are located in St. Petersburg, Yemen, Istanbul, Tashkent, Iran, Europe and the US. Both the PI and her team members spent extended periods in situ. For the domains of Muʿtazilism and Ašʿarism the texts to be edited were identified, and palaeographical and codicological studies of selected codices as well as analyses of pertinent works and authors have been produced (all published). Editions of all works earmarked for critical edition have been prepared, some have already been published, others are currently in press or under review with the publisher. For Muʿtazilism (Muslim and Jewish), the following texts were singled out for critical edition: Ziyādāt Kitāb al-Uṣūl of al-Nāṭiq bi-l-ḥaqq (d. 1033); Nukat al-Muġnī of ʿAbd al-Ǧabbār (d. 1024); Ḥaqāʾiq al-ašyāʾ of the Zaydī theologian Ibn Šarwīn (all published); Abū ʿAlī al-Ǧubbāʾī’s (d. 915-16) al-Maqālāt; Ḍirār b. ʿAmr’s (d. ca. 815) Kitāb al-Taḥrīš; an anonymous early Bahšamite theological summa (MS Milan, Ambrosiana, ar. X 96 sup.); al-Kitāb al-Muḥīṭ of ʿAbd al-Ǧabbār; Šarḥ ʿUyūn al-masāʾil of al-Ḥākim al-Ǧišumī (d. 1101); al-Kitāb al-Muḥtawī and Kitāb al-Tamyīz of the Karaite Yūsuf al-Baṣīr; Kitāb al-Masāʾil fī l-uṣūl of Abū Rašīd al-Nīsābūrī; the theological writings of the Yemeni Zaydī theologian al-Ḥasan al-Raṣṣāṣ (d. 1188). For Ašʿarism, the following works were earmarked for critical edition: Hidāyat al-mustaršidīn of al-Bāqillānī (d. 1013); al-Šāmil of al-Ǧuwaynī (d. 1085); Nihāyat al-ʿuqūl by Faḫr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 1206). In some cases, particularly precious manuscripts were selected for facsimile publication, e.g. the unique (partial) copy of al-Ḫurāšī’s commentary on al-Ḥasan al-Raṣṣāṣ’ Taḥṣīl, or a so far unknown commentary on al-Šayḫ al-Ṭūsī’s Muqaddima. Moreover, while searching for texts relevant to the study of Muʿtazilism and Ašʿarism, new materials have been discovered that added new aspects to the ongoing research, e.g. the intellectual developments of the Zaydī communities in Iran and in Yemen beyond the 13th century CE. Work on Ašʿarism has been expanded in scope as a result of manuscript findings to document the formative interaction of Ašʿarism with other rational traditions, particularly that of Arabic philosophy. Moreover, during the research on Muʿtazilite manuscripts, a number of valuable materials emerged that testify to the Muslim reception of biblical materials. These have resulted in a subproject of its own.
During several trips to St. Petersburg, members of the team have gone through the relevant parts of the Firkovitch collections in search for Muʿtazilite materials. The texts that have been earmarked for critical edition are a comprehensive theological summa by the Būyid vizier al- Ṣāḥib b. ʿAbbād (d. 995), fragments of a commentary by ʿAbd al-Ǧabbār on a work devoted to the subtleties of rational theology (laṭīf alkalām) by Abū Hāšim al-Ǧubbāʾī (d. 933), Faḍl al-Tustarī’s al-Risāla al-Muhaḏḏabiyya, a theological summa of ʿAbd al-Ǧabbār’s student Qāḍī Labbād, and Sahl b. Faḍl al-Tustarī’s Īmā.
With relation to Ašʿarism, the libraries of Morocco, Istanbul, Tashkent, St. Petersburg and Iran (as well as most libraries in the West) have been searched for so far undiscovered Ašʿarite texts, and signifijicant fijinds have been made. Among the most important discoveries are two hitherto unknown fragments of al-Bāqillānī’s Hidāyat al-mustaršidīn, and a critical edition is forthcoming. Studies on selected Ašʿarite authors, works and their respective reception have been prepared (all published). The reception of Faḫr al-Dīn al-Razī and his writings, both among Muslim as well as Christian (Syriac and Coptic) authors, has been another focus of our work in the field of Ašʿarism.
With respect to Coptic doctrinal literature, two major studies were prepared, the first relating to Ibn al-Rāhib’s Burhān, containing an edition and analysis of the sections relating to the divine attributes and comparing the text with possible sources from Christian and non- Christian Arabic theological literature, and the second being a comprehensive study relating to the reception of Maimonides (d. 1204) and Faḫr al-Dīn al-Rāzī in Coptic Arabic literature. In addition, the following texts by Ibn al-Ṭayyib had been earmarked for critical edition:
Tiryāq al-ʿuqūl fī ʿilm al-uṣūl and Ḫulāṣat al-īmān al-masīḥī.
In all above-mentioned fields it has already been possible to overthrow established knowledge and to revise the “state of the art” significantly. The main reason for this is that the project has been able to draw at the same time on all relevant manuscript collections in the world, while earlier scholars as a rule only had partial access to the collections either in the West or in the Islamic world. Moreover, the cataloguing of most relevant collections is still at a rudimentary stage so that the systematic consultation of the various collections on the spot and for an extended period has allowed for the above-mentioned discoveries. In addition, it has been a particular advantage of the project that it simultaneously addresses Muslim, Jewish, Samaritan and Christian intellectual developments with particular attention to their close interrelatedness. This has allowed for major discoveries that had completely escaped the attention of earlier scholarship.