Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Note on the Translation
- Introduction
- Glossary of Key Terms
- Selected Theological Writings
- 1 A Précis of the Doctrines of Abū ’l-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī by Ibn Fūrak
- 2 The Succor of Nations amidst the Confusion of Darkness by al-Juwaynī
- 3 The Theoretical Underpinning of the Imamate by Abū Ṭālib al-Hārūnī
- 4 The Curative Book on the Imamate: A Paraphrastic Rendering by al-Shaykh al-Ṭūsī
- 5 The Book of Excellence on the Fundamental Principles of Religion by Ibn al-Malāḥimī
- 6 The Concise Book of Doctrines by ʿAbd al-Kāf ī al-Warjalānī
- 7 The Crown of Doctrines and the Mine of Instructive Points by al-Dāʿī Ibn al-Walīd
- Bibliography
- Index
- Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought
1 - A Précis of the Doctrines of Abū ’l-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī by Ibn Fūrak
from Selected Theological Writings
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 October 2023
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Note on the Translation
- Introduction
- Glossary of Key Terms
- Selected Theological Writings
- 1 A Précis of the Doctrines of Abū ’l-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī by Ibn Fūrak
- 2 The Succor of Nations amidst the Confusion of Darkness by al-Juwaynī
- 3 The Theoretical Underpinning of the Imamate by Abū Ṭālib al-Hārūnī
- 4 The Curative Book on the Imamate: A Paraphrastic Rendering by al-Shaykh al-Ṭūsī
- 5 The Book of Excellence on the Fundamental Principles of Religion by Ibn al-Malāḥimī
- 6 The Concise Book of Doctrines by ʿAbd al-Kāf ī al-Warjalānī
- 7 The Crown of Doctrines and the Mine of Instructive Points by al-Dāʿī Ibn al-Walīd
- Bibliography
- Index
- Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought
Summary
Chapter one presents the views of the Sunni scholar Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b. Fūrak (d. 406/1015) in his Précis of the Doctrines of Abū ’l-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī (Mujarrad maqālāt Abī ’l-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī). In this work, Ibn Fūrak discusses the teachings of the famous Sunni theologian, Abū ’l-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī (d. 324/935−6), and quotes him directly from writings that are not extant. The Précis provides a brief overview of traditional Sunni views on the imamate. Ibn Fūrak and al-Ashʿarī interpret the history of succession after the Prophet Muhammad in a way that is charitable to the Companions and downplays the conflicts among them. This approach reflects the Sunni view of the first four caliphs as individuals who possessed all of the requisite qualities of an ideal ruler.
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- Caliphate and ImamateAn Anthology of Medieval Muslim Texts on Political Theology, pp. 3 - 18Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023