Al-Ma'mun, the Inquisition, and the Quest for Caliphal Authority

Al-Ma'mun, the Inquisition, and the Quest for Caliphal Authority
Title Al-Ma'mun, the Inquisition, and the Quest for Caliphal Authority PDF eBook
Author John Abdallah Nawas
Publisher Lockwood Press
Pages 361
Release 2015-11-15
Genre History
ISBN 1937040569

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The "inquisition" (Mihnah) unleashed by the seventh Abbasid caliph, 'Abdallah al-Ma'mun (r. 813-833), has long attracted the attention of modern scholars of the intellectual, political, and religious history of the early Abbasid era. Because this event, which began in 820 and stretched through the reigns of two of al-Ma'mun's successors, appears at a convergence of prominent currents in systematic theology, rationalist thought, theocratic politics, and nascent trends in Shiism and Sunnism, historians have seen it as the key to a wide array of puzzles and problems in early Islamic history. In this incisive study, John Nawas subjects the various proposed explanations of these events to a sober and searching analysis and, in the process, presents a new interpretation of al-Ma'mun's political and religious policies, contextualized against the background of early Abbasid intellectual and social history. Appended to the volume is a reprint edition of Walter M. Patton's Ahmed ibn Hanbal and the Mihna (Leiden 1897), which still has much that is useful for modern scholarship, including one enormous additional benefit; it contains most of the relevant passages in Arabic from the primary sources.

Lost Enlightenment

Lost Enlightenment
Title Lost Enlightenment PDF eBook
Author S. Frederick Starr
Publisher Princeton University Press
Pages 694
Release 2015-06-02
Genre History
ISBN 0691165858

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The forgotten story of Central Asia's enlightenment—its rise, fall, and enduring legacy In this sweeping and richly illustrated history, S. Frederick Starr tells the fascinating but largely unknown story of Central Asia's medieval enlightenment through the eventful lives and astonishing accomplishments of its greatest minds—remarkable figures who built a bridge to the modern world. Because nearly all of these figures wrote in Arabic, they were long assumed to have been Arabs. In fact, they were from Central Asia—drawn from the Persianate and Turkic peoples of a region that today extends from Kazakhstan southward through Afghanistan, and from the easternmost province of Iran through Xinjiang, China. Lost Enlightenment recounts how, between the years 800 and 1200, Central Asia led the world in trade and economic development, the size and sophistication of its cities, the refinement of its arts, and, above all, in the advancement of knowledge in many fields. Central Asians achieved signal breakthroughs in astronomy, mathematics, geology, medicine, chemistry, music, social science, philosophy, and theology, among other subjects. They gave algebra its name, calculated the earth's diameter with unprecedented precision, wrote the books that later defined European medicine, and penned some of the world's greatest poetry. One scholar, working in Afghanistan, even predicted the existence of North and South America—five centuries before Columbus. Rarely in history has a more impressive group of polymaths appeared at one place and time. No wonder that their writings influenced European culture from the time of St. Thomas Aquinas down to the scientific revolution, and had a similarly deep impact in India and much of Asia. Lost Enlightenment chronicles this forgotten age of achievement, seeks to explain its rise, and explores the competing theories about the cause of its eventual demise. Informed by the latest scholarship yet written in a lively and accessible style, this is a book that will surprise general readers and specialists alike.

Islam Instrumentalized

Islam Instrumentalized
Title Islam Instrumentalized PDF eBook
Author Jean-Philippe Platteau
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Pages 547
Release 2017-06-06
Genre Business & Economics
ISBN 1107155444

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This book challenges the widespread view that Islam is a reactionary religion that defends tradition against modernity and individual freedom. Jean-Philippe Platteau shows how Islam is vulnerable to political manipulation and how the threat of religious extremism is especially high because Islam is not organized as a centralized church.

Inquisition in Early Islam

Inquisition in Early Islam
Title Inquisition in Early Islam PDF eBook
Author John P. Turner (Associate Professor of History)
Publisher
Pages 228
Release 2013
Genre Abbasids
ISBN 9780755607846

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"In 833 CE, the Abbasid Caliph al-Ma'mun began a period of inquisition (mihna), one which continued until his successor al-Mutawakkil decreed its end, fifteen years later. During this period, the Caliphs in power strove to promote 'correct belief' in the 'createdness' of the Qur'an, thus ordering the interrogation of religious scholars on the subject and disqualifying, beating or even executing those who answered incorrectly. Here, John P. Turner examines and analyses this major episode, viewing it as the pivotal point for the era in question and ultimately for the state of relations between the temporal authorities and religious law. Inquisition in Early Islam focuses on the shifting control over matters of belief and orthodoxy, from the Caliph to the religious scholars, and explores the relationships between heresy, power and the articulation and definition of law and doctrine. Turner does so by exploring the mihna within its context, asking questions such as, why was it so pivotal? Why was it begun? Why did it end? When did the meaning of the Caliph's position in society shift? How did the Caliph lose his ability to assert himself in defining the boundaries and beliefs of religion? And why and when do the religious/legal scholars gain independence and control over the elaboration and interpretation of the law? By examining the definition of 'heresy' as conceived of by the Caliphs, Turner presents a vivid account of the heresy trials during this period, as well as an insightful analysis of the nature of rule and religion. Through investigating heretics and heresy in this period, Turner highlights the Caliph's social role, exploring the relationships between orthodoxy, heresy, power and authority in a context where there was no single arbiter of dogma. This book is therefore of particular interest to researchers and scholars of Islamic history as well as of comparative religion and medieval history."--Bloomsbury publishing.

Inquisition in Early Islam

Inquisition in Early Islam
Title Inquisition in Early Islam PDF eBook
Author John Turner
Publisher I. B. Tauris
Pages 256
Release 2013-05-15
Genre History
ISBN 9781780761640

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In 833 CE, the Abbasid Caliph al-Ma'mun began a period of inquisition (mihna), one which continued until his successor al-Mutawakkil decreed its end, fifteen years later. During this period, the Caliphs in power strove to promote 'correct belief' in the 'createdness' of the Qur'an, thus ordering the interrogation of religious scholars, and disqualifying, punishing or even executing those who answered incorrectly. Here, John P. Turner examines this major episode, viewing it as a pivotal point in the struggle between the temporal authorities and religious law in the Middle East. By examining the definition of 'heresy', Turner presents a vivid account of the heresy trials in this period, as well as incisive analysis concerning the relationship between secular power and religious authority. This book is of particular interest to researchers and scholars of Islamic history, comparative religion and the medieval world.

Science & Islam

Science & Islam
Title Science & Islam PDF eBook
Author Ehsan Masood
Publisher Icon Books Ltd
Pages 215
Release 2009-11-05
Genre Science
ISBN 1848311605

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From Musa al-Khwarizmi who developed algebra in 9th century Baghdad to al-Jazari, a 13th-century Turkish engineer whose achievements include the crank, the camshaft and the reciprocating piston, Science and Islam tells the story of one of history’s most misunderstood yet rich and fertile periods in science: the extraordinary Islamic scientific revolution between 700 and 1400 CE.

Slaves on Horses

Slaves on Horses
Title Slaves on Horses PDF eBook
Author Patricia Crone
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Pages 318
Release 1980
Genre History
ISBN 9780521529402

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An explanation of the Muslim phenomenon of slave soldiers, concentrating on the period AD 650-850.