Existence & Quiddity in the Later Ash'arite Kalam

 

 

 

 

Description :

Existence and Quiddity in the Later Ash'arite Kalam is aimed at shedding some light on the intellectual process that historically led to the sophisticated elaborations and analyses of existence (wuj?d) and quiddity (m?hiyyah) by such later ??f? metaphysicians as 'Abd al-Ra?m?n al-J?m?, 'Abd al-Ghan? al-N?blus?, Mull? ?adr? and others.


Tthe present work explores the position of a school of thought in the Islamic history—that is to say, later ash‘arisms as represented primarily by its two famous mutakallims, one from the 7th/8th century of Hijrah and the other from the 8th/9th century, namely: ‘A?ud al-D?n ‘Abd al-Ra?m?n al-?j? (d. 756 H.) and al-Sayyid al-Shar?f ‘Al? b. Mu?ammad al-Jurj?n? (d. 816 H.)—which was directly and actively involved in the intellectual debates about the nature of existence and quiddity that resulted in a creative synthesis of the aforementioned metaphysicians.

 

 

It is therefore an attempt to survey how these two mutakallims, the former being the main actor and the latter being his commentator, dealt with the various positions adopted pertaining to the nature of existence and its relation to quiddity. In so doing, it selects al-?j?’s widely acclaimed kal?m manual, al-Maw?qif, and the most famous among its many commentaries, the one done by al-Jurj?n?.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author :

 

 

Dr. Muhammad Zaidi bin Ismail is currently the Deputy Director-General of the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM). Dr. Zaidi received his Master's degree in the field of Islamic Thought (Epistemology & Philosophy of Mind) in 1995 and Doctorate in the field of Islamic Thought (Islamic Ontology) in from the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC), in 2006.
 

 

Dr. Zaidi is involved with and serving on many academic Islamic boards and Councils throughout Malaysia. Amongst his published works;


 *** Existence and Quiddity in the Later Ash’arite Kalam,
 *** Aqal dalam Islam: Satu Tinjauan Epistemologi (Aqal in Islam: An Epistemological Outlook),
 *** Islam and Higher-Order Thinking : An Overview,
 *** Adab dan Peradaban : Karya Pengi`tirafan untuk Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas (Adab and Civilisation : Fetschrift for Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas),
 *** Kreativiti dan Imaginasi dalam Psikologi Islami : Pengamatan al-Ghaz?l?, al-Baghd?d? dan al-R?z? (Creativity and Imagination in Islamic Psychology : Observations by al-Ghaz?l?, al-Baghd?d? and al-R?z?),
 *** Good Governance: Adab-Oriented Tadb?r in Isl?m,
 *** Memahami Pelbagai Segi Ilmu melalui Takrifannya : Warisan Ilmiah al-Asha`irah (Undertanding Knowledge’s Multidimensions via its Descriptions: Al-Asha`irah’s Intellectual Heritage),
 *** The Sources of Knowledge in al-Ghazali’s Thought : A Psychological Framework of Epistemology.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents :

 

---Preface,

---Acknowledgements,

---About the Author,

---List of Abbreviations,

 

Introduction,

---[1]. Life & Works of Imam al-Iji,

-----1.1. Al-Iji's Life,

-----1.2. Al-Iji's Works,

--------Al-Fawaid al-Ghiyathiyyah fi al-Ma'ani wal-Bayan,

--------A Commentary (sharh) on Ibn Hajib's [d.646h] Mukhtasar,

--------Risalat [fi] al-Wad,

--------Adab al-Bahth,

--------Al-'Aqa'id al-'Aduddiyyah,

--------Kitab al-Mawaqif fi 'Ilm al-Kalam,

--------Kitab Jawahir al-Kalam,

---[2]. Life & Works of Imam al-Jurjani,

-----2.1. Al-Jurjani's Life,

-----1.2. Al-Jurjani's Works,

--------Kitab al-Ta'rifat,

--------Glosses on the famous Qur'anic Exegesis of Al-Zamakhshari [d.538h],
al-Kashshaf 'an-Haqa'iq al-Tanzil wa-'Uyun al-Aqawil fi Wujuh al-Ta'wil,
--------Glosses to al-Taftazani's al-Sharh al-Mutawwal,

--------Glosses to al-Iji's Sharh on Ibn al-Hajib's Mukhtasar,

--------Risalah fi Tahqiq Ma'na al-Harf,

--------Al-Mukhtasar,

--------Glosses on Qutb al-Din al-Razi al-Tahtani's Lawami' al-Asrar,

--------Glosses on Qutb al-Din al-Razi al-Tahtani's Tahrir al-Qawa'id al-Mantiqiyyah fi Sharh al-Risalah al-Shamsiyyah,

--------A Commentary on al-Iji's al-Mawaqif,

---[3]. Al-Iji's al-Mawaqif fi 'Ilm al-Kalam,

---[4]. Reasons for Focusing Primarily on al-Mawaqif and it's Sharh,

---[5]. Some Technical Terms that are Uniformly Employed in the Study,

---[6]. Aims and Method of the Study.

 

Chapter [1]. Being (al-Mawjud) as Cognoscendum (al-Ma'lum),

---[1]. Some Background,

-----1.1. Al-Iji's Arrangement of the Chapters & Sections in al-Mawaqif,

-----1.2. General Matters (al-Umur al-'Ammah),

-----1.3. The-Object-of-Knowledge (al-Ma'lum),

---[2]. On the Kinds of the-Objects-of-Knowledge,

-----2.1. The First Group,

-----2.2. The Second Group,

-----2.3. The Third Group,

-----2.4. The Fourth Group,

---[3]. On the Kinds of Being [or Existent],

-----3.1. The Position of the Theologians,

-----3.2. The Position of the Philosophers,

--------Diagram: The First Possibility (Madhhab Ahl al-Haqq),

--------Diagram: The Second Possibility (al-Baqillani, al-Juwayni (earlier view) & some Mu'tazilites,

--------Diagram: The Third Possibility (the position of most Mu'tazilites),

--------Diagram: The Fourth Possibility (a group of Mu'tazilites),

--------Diagram: The Theologians,

--------Diagram: The True Position,

--------Diagram: The Philosophers.
 

Chapter [2]. The Cognisability of Existence,

---[1]. Existence is Self-Evident,

-----1.1. The First Reason,

-----1.2. The Second Reason,

-----1.3. The Third Reason,

---[2]. Existence is not Self-Evident,

-----2.1. Existence Being Acquired,

-----2.2. Existence Being Not Cognisable,

---[3]. A Recapitulation of the Various Positions & the Most Plausible Position that can be Attributed to al-Iji.

 

Chapter [3]. The Commonness of Existence,

---[1]. On the Meanings of Homonym, Univocality and Analogicality,

---[2]. Arguments for the Semantic Commonness of Existence,

---[3]. The Most Plausible Position that can be Attributed to al-Iji.

 

---[2]. Existence, in Regard to the Necessary Being, is the very Quiddity Itself and, in Regard to the Possible Beings, is Superadded to it,

---[3]. Existence is Superadded to the Quiddity in the Case of Both the Necessary and the Possible Beings,

-----3.1. Arguments for Its Being Superadded in the Case of Contingent,

-----3.2. Arguments for the Superaddedness of Existence to Quiddity in the Case of the Necessary Being,

---[4]. Al-Iji's View.

 

Chapter [5]. Mental Existence,

---[1]. The Propenents of Mental Existence,

---[2]. The Opponents of Mental Existence,

-----2.3. Objections to the First and Second Reasons,

---[3]. The Most Plausible Position that can be Attributed to al-Iji.

Conclusion :

---[1]. Al-Iji's Position on the Main Issues,

-----1.1. Al-Iji on Being as Cognoscendum,

-----1.2. Al-Iji on the Cognisability of Existence,

-----1.3. Al-Iji on the Commonness of Existence,

---[2]. Assessment of al-Iji's Position in the Light of the Claim of the Later Sufi Metaphysicians.

 

 

---Bibliography,

---Index.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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*Dimensions : 22.2 x 15cm.