Ibn Taymiyya's theodicy of perpetual optimism

Bibliographic Information

Ibn Taymiyya's theodicy of perpetual optimism

by Jon Hoover

(Islamic philosophy, theology, and science, v. 73)

Brill, 2007

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Note

Bibliography: p. [239]-253

Includes index

This book is a substantial reworking of my 2002 University of Birmingham Ph.D. entitled, " An Islamic theodicy : Ibn Taymiyya on the wise purpose of God, human agency, and problems of evil and justice"--Acknowledgements

Description and Table of Contents

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 Ash'ari divine voluntarism, the free-will theodicy of the Mu'tazilis, and the essentially timeless God of other optimists like Ibn Sina and Ibn 'Arabi.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Introduction Worship, Religious Epistemology and Theological Jurisprudence God's Wise Purpose, Perpetual Activity and Self-Sufficiency God's Creation and God's Command God's Creation of Acts in the Human Agent The Wise Purpose and Origin of Evil The Justice of God and the Best of All Possible Conclusion Bibliography Index

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