Between the God of the Prophets and the God of the Philosophers

Between the God of the Prophets and the God of the Philosophers
Author: Hatem Al-Haj
Publisher:
Total Pages: 172
Release: 2020-03-09
Genre:
ISBN:

The apophatic god of negative theology is the areligious philosophers' preferred god; a god which is remote, detached, and can hardly be an object of adoration or worship, even though it may be an object of wonderment. This is not God according to the Prophets. However, the depiction of God in the theistic traditions has been always charged with anthropomorphism. In this book, I attempt to respond to this charge and explain what Athari (scripturalist) Muslim theologians believe about the Divine attributes and why. Where Do We Get Our Belief From? Our Epistemological Position. The Role of Truthful Reports. The Role of Reason. The Place of Kalâm: Reason as a Tool of Understanding and Armor for Defense. A Typology of Islamic Positions on the Attributes of God. What Do We Believe In? Why Do We Believe in Amodal Affirmation and Why? Do We Believe It Is Important? What Are the Counter Arguments? Reports from the Salaf; Conflict with Reason; The Perfect Does Not Change; The Composite god and Divisibility; Anthropomorphism and Assimilation. Conclusion: Ontologically, no extant being lacks quiddity and attributes. Noumenally, the apophatic god is nonexistent, and phenomenally, it cannot be felt or related to, let alone loved and worshiped. In conclusion of this work, here are my recommendations: -To be deserving of Divine guidance, we need to purify our intentions by true devotion to Allah. We also need to constantly rehabilitate our fiṭrah and heal it from the ills of bias (hawa), ulterior motives (aghrâḍ), blind imitation (taqleed), habit ('âdah), and conjecture (gharṣ). This can only be done through spiritual labor and immersion in the Revelation as understood and practiced by the first community. -We must not subject the Divine instruction to prevalent intellectual or social conventions or transplant xenografts and foreign discourses into our hermeneutical system. We must affirm our belief in the epistemic superiority and self-sufficiency of the Revelation as the ultimate source of truth about the unseen. This will never require us to impugn the office of reason or undercut its value in understanding the Revelation and defending its doctrines. -Our belief in Allah must be rooted in His exoneration from all deficiencies and His absolute incomparability (tanzeeh), and the amodal affirmation (ithbât) of His attributes by which He has described Himself and His Messenger described Him. In our affirmation of the Divine attributes, we should never accept the so-called "necessary concomitants." Inferring from the world of shahâdah (seen) about the world of ghayb (unseen) is both irrational and perilous.-We must be respectful of the imams of this deen, regardless of our agreement or disagreement with them. When we have to disagree, we must continue to love those who spent their lives serving Allah and His cause, and show them the requisite respect. -The public should be spared the confusion of intra-Islamic polemics on creed and taught the basics of 'aqeedah that will provide them with enough guardrails. People should then be uplifted spiritually to want to seek Allah and earn His pleasure. When it comes to the Divine attributes, teachers must prime their understanding with tanzeeh and let the rhetorical strength and richness of the Revelation flow to their hearts, unimpeded by intellectual objections.

Milestones

Milestones
Author: Sayyid Quṭb
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2005
Genre: Islam
ISBN: 9781450590648

On Islam and Islamic civilization.

Contemporary Developments in Indonesian Islam

Contemporary Developments in Indonesian Islam
Author: Martin van Bruinessen
Publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2013
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9814414565

"Once celebrated in the Western media as a shining example of a 'liberal' and 'tolerant' Islam, Indonesia since the end of the Soeharto regime (May 1998) has witnessed a variety of developments that bespeak a conservative turn in the country's Muslim politics. In this timely collection of original essays, Martin van Bruinessen, our most distinguished senior Western scholar of Indonesian Islam, and four leading Indonesian Muslim scholars explore and explain these developments. Each chapter examines recent trends from a strategic institutional perch: the Council of Indonesian Muslim scholars, the reformist Muhammadiyah, South Sulawesi's Committee for the Implementation of Islamic Shari'a, and radical Islamism in Solo. With van Bruinessen's brilliantly synthetic introduction and conclusion, these essays shed a bright light on what Indonesian Muslim politics was and where it seems to be going. The analysis is complex and by no means uniformly dire. For readers interested in Indonesian Muslim politics, and for analysts interested in the dialectical interplay of progressive and conservative Islam, this book is fascinating and essential reading." -Robert Hefner, Director Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs, Boston University

Constructing a Religiously Ideal ',Believer', and ',Woman', in Islam

Constructing a Religiously Ideal ',Believer', and ',Woman', in Islam
Author: A. Duderija
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 263
Release: 2016-04-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0230337864

In this comprehensive study, Adis Duderija examines how Neo Traditional Salafi thought (NTS) and progressive Muslims interpret the normative concepts of 'Believer' and 'Muslim Woman' in contemporary Islam

Bayan Talbis Al-Jahmiyyah (English Translation Artificial) (Volume 1)

Bayan Talbis Al-Jahmiyyah (English Translation Artificial) (Volume 1)
Author: Ibn Taymiyyah
Publisher: Independently Published
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2021-11-02
Genre:
ISBN:

This is an ai translation of BAYAN TALBIS AL-JAHMIYYAH by IBN TAYMIYYAH. It is only volume 1, I am going to release volume 2 soon. This is an artificial translation from a program I use. I read all the pages, and its very comprehensible. Its not perfect, but im sure you will be able to understand the book. I figured its better to have an artificial translation than to have none at all. This book is a literary debate between AL-Razi and Ibn Taymiyyah, the topic is whether God is located in a direction or not. Very important book for Salafis.

The Military and Democracy in Indonesia

The Military and Democracy in Indonesia
Author: Angel Rabasa
Publisher: Rand Corporation
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2002-12-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0833034022

The military is one of the few institutions that cut across the divides of Indonesian society. As it continues to play a critical part in determining Indonesia's future, the military itself is undergoing profound change. The authors of this book examine the role of the military in politics and society since the fall of President Suharto in 1998. They present several strategic scenarios for Indonesia, which have important implications for U.S.-Indonesian relations, and propose goals for Indonesian military reform and elements of a U.S. engagement policy.

Sharh Al-Aqeedat-il-Wasitiyah

Sharh Al-Aqeedat-il-Wasitiyah
Author: Ibn Taymiyyah
Publisher: Noah Publishing Company
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2018-09-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781643541167

The eminent scholar of Islam, Sheikh-ul-Islam Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, discusses the real & original faith of Islam according to the Qur'an & Sunnah. It deals with the perfect and undefiled Islamic Faith and Creed of the As-Salaf-As-Salih (Pious Predecessors) particularly in regards to Allah's names and attributes, with solid arguments in brief words and terminologies. The book is highly appreciated by the scholars for its brevity as well as comprehensiveness; and for its contents produced in line with the Qur'an and Sunnah in an appealing and manifest manner.

Militant Groups in South Asia

Militant Groups in South Asia
Author: Surinder Kumar Sharma
Publisher:
Total Pages: 326
Release: 2014
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

Profiles important militant groups presently active in South Asian countries. The information related to these militant groups has been culled from open sources and due care has been taken to check the facts for consistency and reliability. The threat perception from each group is covered in detail.