Al-Jahiz and Religious Knowledge by Hussein Ali Abdulsater (Hardback)

£100.00
Out of stock
Product Ref. (e.g. ISBN, SKU)
9781399521970
Published:
31 May 2025
Format:
Hardback
Number of pages:
360 pages
Dimensions:
234x156mm
Weight:
0.000kgs
Offers an unprecedented theological investigation into al-Jaḥiẓ's social empiricism.

While it may seem paradoxical to combine trust in rational religion with distrust of human reason, this is exactly what a group of understudied Muslim theologians proposed. Known as the Epistemists, they pushed for an inclusive epistemology that broadened the scope of knowledge. They argued that humans can acquire rational knowledge without discursive arguments, through an unconscious process of social exposure. In this, the Epistemists presented a radical alternative to other Islamic conceptions of rationalism, with immense promise for modern contexts.

This book reconstructs a worldview prominent among the Epistemists, and explores how it correlates with their rise and fall as a theological trend. It examines the intellectual project of their premier advocate, al-Jaḥiẓ (d. 868-9), offering a systematic reading of his oeuvre as an Epistemist, and situates it in the formative ?Abbasid moment of Islamic history.

About the Author: Hussein Ali Abdulsater is Associate Professor of Arabic Culture and Islamic Studies in the Department of Classics at the University of Notre Dame. His research is concerned with uncovering the historical roots and social contexts of major theological themes in Islam. It also traces the ethical and philosophical aspects of Islamic religious thought as expressed in humanistic disciplines such as historiography and literature.His publications include:· "A Jaḥiẓian Contribution to Reason in Islam? Revisiting al-Muḥasibi's Ma?iyyat al-?aql," Journal of the American Oriental Society, 142:1 (2022), 1-32.· Shi?i Doctrine, Mu?tazili Theology: al-Sharif al-Murtaḍa and Imami Discourse (Edinburgh University Press, 2017).· "Reason, Grace and the Freedom of Conscience: The Period of Investigation in Classical Islamic Theology," Studia Islamica, 110:2 (2015), 233-262.

More Information
Number of pages 360

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