JSTOR

Ibn Taymiyya's Theodicy of Perpetual Optimism

Author

Jon Hoover

Year

2007

Publisher

Brill

Type

BOOK

Category

Philosophy

Language

English

Pages

282

ISBN

978-9-04742-019-4

Link

Last Update

09-Sep-2024

Keywords

RELIGION / Islam / General

Description

The Muslim jurist Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328) is famous for polemic against Islamic philosophy, theology and rationalizing mysticism, but his positive theological contribution has not been well understood. This comprehensive study of Ibn Taymiyya’s theodicy helps to rectify this lack. Exposition and analysis of Ibn Taymiyya’s writings on God’s justice and wise purpose, divine determination and human agency, the problem of evil, and juristic method in theological doctrine show that he articulates a theodicy of optimism in which God in His essence perpetually wills the best possible world from eternity. This sets Ibn Taymiyya’s theodicy apart from Ashʿarī divine voluntarism, the free-will theodicy of the Muʿtazilīs, and the essentially timeless God of other optimists like Ibn Sīnā and Ibn ʿArabī.

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