Muslim Christain Polemics across the Mediterranean -
The Splendid Replies of Shihab al-Din al-Qarafi (d.684/1285),
(al-Ajwiba al-fakhira ‘an al-as’ila al-fajira)
[A4-] Hardback - 368 pages,
Compiled by Diego R.Sarrio Cucarella, New, January 2015.
Published by EJ Brill Academic, Netherlands.
Vol 23 : of The History of Muslim-Christian Relations.
Description :
In Muslim-Christian Polemics across the Mediterranean Diego R. Sarrió Cucarella provides an exposition and analysis of Shihab al-Din al-Qarafi’s (d. 684/1285) Splendid Replies to Insolent Questions (al-Ajwiba al-fakhira ‘an al-as’ila al-fajira).
Written in response to an apology for Christianity by the Melkite Bishop of Sidon, Paul of Antioch, the Splendid Replies is among the most extensive and most important medieval Muslim refutations of Christianity, and the primary significance of this study is to provide detailed access to its argumentation and intellectual context for the first time in a western language. Moreover, the Introduction and Conclusion creatively situate the work within the challenges of modern-day Christian-Muslim dialogue.
Imam Shihab al-Din Abu al-'Abbas Ahmad ibn Idris (al-Sanhaji al-Bihinsi al-Misri) al-Qarafi (1228–1285), was a Maliki jurist of Berber (Sanhaja) origin who lived in Ayyubid and Mamluk Egypt. He was born in the Bahnasa district of Upper Egypt reportedly sometime around 1228.
He is considered by many to be the greatest Maliki legal theoretician of the 13th century; his writings and influence on Islamic legal theory (usul al-fiqh) spread throughout the Muslim world. His insistence on the limits of law underscores the importance of non-legal (not to be confused with illegal) considerations in determining the proper course of action, with significant implications for legal reform in the modern Islamic world. His views on the common good (maslahah) and custom provide means to accommodate the space-time differential between modern and premodern realities. The most important of his many works are Al-dhakhirah (The Stored Treasure), Al-furuq (Differences), Nafais al usul (Gems of Legal Theory), and Kitab al-ihkam fi tamyiz al-fatawa an al-ahkam wa tasarrufat al-qadi wa'l-imam (The Book of Perfecting the Distinction Between Legal Opinions, Judicial Decisions, and the Discretionary Actions of Judges and Caliphs).
Biographical note :
Diego R. Sarrió Cucarella received his PhD in 2014 from the Department of Theology at Georgetown University. His publications have focused on the intellectual history of Christian-Muslim relations. He lectures at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI), Rome.
Readership :
All interested in the intellectual history of Christian-Muslim relations, the role of polemics in the construction of religious identity, and anyone concerned with the theological challenges of modern-day Christian-Muslim dialogue.
Table of Contents :
---Some Matters of Usage,
---Acknowledgements.
Introduction :
---[1]. Islam, Irrelevant for Christianity?
---[2]. The Church Has Also a High Regard for the Muslims,
---[3]. The Exclusionary Dimension of Religious Identity,
---[4]. Carl Schmitt and the Inescapability of the Political,
---[5]. Freeing Religion from Social Antagonism,
---[6]. The New Comparative Theology and Christian-Muslim Polemics,
---[7]. The Mirror of the Other,
---[8]. Outline.
Chapter [One] : A Scholarly Life in Defense of Islam,
---[1]. The Political Context: A World in Convulsion,
---[2]. Muslim-Christian Interaction in Egypt during the Thirteenth Century,
---[3]. A Scholarly Life,
------[3.1]. Primary and Secondary Sources,
------[3.2]. Biographical Data, Education, and Teaching Posts,
------[3.3]. In Defense of Islam,
---[4]. Al-Qarafai's Contacts with the People of the Book,
---[5]. Al-Qarafi in Previous Scholarship,
------[5.1]. The Jurist and the Theologian,
------[5.2]. The Polemicist,
---[6]. Concluding Remarks.
Chapter [Two] : A Handbook for Polemics,
---[1]. Date of Composition,
---[2]. A Christian Argumentation from the Qurʾan,
---[3]. Structure and Contents: A General Overview,
---[4]. A Handbook for Polemics,
---[5]. Written Sources,
------[5.1]. Paul of Antioch’s Risala ila baʿd asdiqaʾihi alladhina bi-Sayda min al-muslimin,
------[5.2]. Al-Jaʿfari’s Takhjil man harrafa al-Tawrah wa-l-Injil,
------[5.3]. Al-Qurṭubi’s al-Iʿam bi-ma fi din al-Nasara min al-fasad wa-l-awham,
------[5.4]. Al-Khazraji’s Maqamiʿ al-sulban,
------[5.5]. Al-Samawʾal al-Maghribi’s Ifham al-Yahud,
---[6]. Concluding Remarks.
Chapter [Three] : Al-Qarafi's Reply to the Letter to a Muslim Friend,
---[1]. A Blind Nation and an Ignorant Sect,
---[2]. Theology of Religions: Faith among Faiths,
------[2.1]. Muhammad: A Prophet for the Pagan Arabs,
------[2.2]. The Law of Justice and the Law of Grace,
---[3]. Theology of the Word of God: The Qurʾānic Proof for Christianity,
------[3.1]. Jesus the Messiah: A Spirit of God and His Word,
------[3.2]. The Qurʾan and Christian Liturgy,
------[3.3]. That Is The Book, Wherein There Is No Doubt,
------[3.4]. Christians Should Not Be Considered Polytheists,
---[4]. Theology of Divinity: Philosophizing about God,
------[4.1]. If Muslims Knew What We Mean,
------[4.2]. Human Language and God,
------[4.3]. A Substance Not Like Created Substances,
---[5]. Concluding Remarks.
Chapter [Four] : Apologia Pro Religione Islaimica,
---[1]. Jesus the Messiah, the Prophet Who Did Not Die,
------[1.1]. Crucifixion: Reality or Delusion?
------[1.2]. The Probative Value of the Miracles of Jesus,
------[1.3]. The Incarnation: An Ontological Impossibility,
---[2]. The Qurʾan under Fire,
------[2.1]. Errors in the Qurʾan,
------[2.2]. Muslim Disputes about the Qurʾan,
---[3]. The Abrogation and Falsification of the Torah,
------[3.1]. Can God Change His Mind?
------[3.2]. The Falsification of the Torah,
---[4]. Miscellanea,
------[4.1]. The Hadith of the Pen and Paper,
------[4.2]. The Physical Pleasures of Paradise,
------[4.3]. Fighting for God’s Cause: Virtue or Vice?
---[5]. Concluding Remarks.
Chapter [Five] : Christianity and the Innovation of a Wretched God,
---[1]. The Christian Creed: Viler than Treachery,
---[2]. Christian Innovated Practice and Behavior,
------[2.1]. Christians and Circumcision,
------[2.2]. Consumption of Pork,
------[2.3]. The Offering of Bread and Wine,
---[3]. An Islamic Theologoumenon: The Corruption of Early Christianity,
------[3.1]. Paul’s Self-Immolation and the Ploy to Divide the Christians,
------[3.2]. The Cunning Jewish King,
------[3.3]. State-Manufactured Christianity,
---[4]. Christian Liturgical Prayers,
---[5]. Sin, Repentance, and Salvation,
------[5.1]. Repentance and the Obliteration of Sins,
------[5.2]. The Individual Nature of Sin,
------[5.3]. Purification by Good Deeds,
------[5.4]. What Salvation?
---[6]. The Christian God: A Philosophical and Theological Non-starter,
---[7]. Concluding Remarks.
Chapter [Six] : The Prophet Foretold,
---[1]. The Proofs of Prophecy,
---[2]. Muslims and the Bible: An Abiding Tension,
---[3]. The Arabicisation of Biblical History,
---[4]. The Falsification of Previous Scriptures,
---[5]. Whose Name Will Be Ahmad,
---[6]. Solutions to a Paradox,
---[7]. Imagine a Pagan Arriving in Our Land,
---[8]. Structure and Sources of Chapter Four,
---[9]. Exegetical Themes,
------[9.1]. Prediction of the Islamic ummah,
------[9.2]. Prediction of Muhammad,
------[9.3]. The Promised Paraclete,
------[9.4]. Muhammad’s Name and Description,
------[9.5]. Abrahamic Descent through Ishmael and Hagar,
------[9.6]. Universality of Muhammad’s Mission,
------[9.7]. Subjugation of the Nations,
------[9.8]. Muhammad’s Fight against Error and Unbelief,
------[9.9]. The Finality of Islam and the Abrogation of Prior Religion,
------[9.10]. Mecca’s Role and Elevated Status,
------[9.11]. Biblical References to Islamic Rituals,
------[9.12]. The Original Arab Character of Islam and the Desert Motif,
---[10]. Concluding Remarks.
---Conclusion : The Prospects of Christian-Muslim Theological Dialogue,
---Appendix A: Al-Qarafi's Literary Production,
---Appendix B: The Arguments from the Letter to a Muslim Friend,
---Appendix C: The Corruption of Early Christianity,
---Appendix D: Biblical Predictions,
---Bibliography,
------1. Main Primary Sources: Editions and Translations,
------2. Other Primary Sources: Editions and Translations,
------3. Secondary Sources,
---Biblical References,
---Qurʾanic References,
---General Index.
