Le soufisme et les soufis selon Ibn Taymiyya (Published version)

This article provides yet another testament to the reality that some form of Sufism existed amidst the circle of students and followers of Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328). Based on a unique manuscript from Damascus, presented here for the first time is an Arabic edition and English translation of Risālat al-sulūk (Epistle on the Spiritual Way) by al-Baʿlabakkī (d. 734/1333), a Ḥanbalite student of Ibn Taymiyya who was also trained in the Sufi way. This is preceded by a study that sheds light on al-Baʿlabakkī’s intellectual context, which is primarily concerned with the place of Sufism in Ibn Taymiyya’s circle. The article then proceeds with a biography of al-Baʿlabakkī, followed by some relevant notes on the manuscript of Risālat al-sulūk and its edition and translation.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/muwo.12234

book reviews die welt des islams 54 (2014) 281-285 die welt des islams 54 (2014) 281-285 © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2014 |

Islamic theologians and sufi orders are rarely considered to have totally different ways of of discovering the truth of God. In the view of Ibn Taymiyya, on the contrary, Islamic theology and mysticism, both together strive to deliver people to understand the existence of God so they are, accordingly, willing to do good and leave the bad. This what will bring into the perfection of human soul. What makes it different is that Islamic theology (kalām) is more theoretical, while mysticism is more practical. Islamic theology as a theoretical mean leads man to the logical belief. Yet, the realization of this logical belief will practically be appeared when it was charged by Sufism. Yet, Ibn Taymiyya denies such concepts as "union with God" as the highest goal of human life. Ābsorption into the God and contemplation into the highest Reality should be realized in terms of sharī'a. For him, the supreme absorption is the absorption in worshiping ('ibāda) God. ABSTRAK Umumnya, teolog dan Sufi dipandang berusaha menemukan kebenaran Tuhan dengan caranya masing-masing yang berbeda dan tidak saling terkait satu sama lain. Namun sebaliknya, bagi Ibn Taymiyyah, kalam dan tasawuf sama-sama berupaya untuk mengantarkan manusia memahami keberadaan Allah, sehingga bersedia melakukan kebaikan dan meninggalkan keburukan demi mengantarkan manusia pada kesempurnaan jiwa. Bedanya, kalam lebih bersifat teoritis sementara tasawuf lebih bersifat praktis. Kalam sebagai sarana teoritis dapat mengantarkan manusia kepada keyakinan logis. Keyakinan logis ini baru akan terealisasi nyata secara praktis melalui melalui tasawuf. Meski demikian, Ibn Taymiyyah menolak konsep penyatuan diri dengan Tuhan sebagai tujuan utama manusia. Melebur dalam diri Tuhan dan kontemplasi atas Realitas tertinggi, menurutnya, harus dilihat dari aspek syariah. Baginya, puncak dari kesatuan adalah penyembahan dan ibadah kepada Tuhan. Kata-kata Kunci: Teologi Islam, mistisime, epistemologi, fithrah, waḥdat al-wujūd.

Journal of Islamic Studies (Oxford University Press), 2023

This article analyses Ibn Taymiyya’s neglected commentary on ʿAbū al-Qāsim al-Qushayrī ’s Epistle on Sufism (al-Risāla al-Qushayriyya fī ʿilm al-taṣawwuf), in which he wages several intellectual battles simultaneously: with Ashʿarī theologians of earlier centuries, such as al-Qushayrī himself; with his Ashʿarī contemporaries like Ibn Jahbal al-Kilābī; and with advocates in Damascus and Cairo of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s monistic teachings. Ibn Taymiyya deploys a set of historical and discursive arguments rooted in the early Sufi historiography to argue that both Ashaʿrīs and monistic-minded Sufis do not have a rightful claim to the heritage of the early Sufi authorities. In the struggle to define ‘Islamic orthodoxy’, Ashaʿrīs and Ḥanbalīs evince two radically different approaches to Sufi sayings. Al-Qushayrī and Ibn Jahbal affirm the harmony between Sufi utterances and the rational proofs of speculative theology (kalām), while, in stark contrast, Ibn Taymiyya accentuates their ascetic-mystical connotations. This Ḥanbalī–Ashʿarī debate comprised two conflicting attitudes to the notion of ‘Muslim sainthood’ (wilāya): the Ashʿarīs insisted that early Sufi saintly figures (awliyāʾ) mastered the principles of kalām in order to explain the nature of God to different classes of the Muslim community, while Ibn Taymiyya believed that this type of theological reasoning undermined the very foundations of the spiritual teachings of the early Sufis and retarded the spiritual growth of those who undertook the Sufi path. These polemical exchanges demonstrate that Sufi figures, concepts, images, and texts became central to the articulation of theological arguments during the early Mamluk sultanate.

Islamochristiana, 2014

Teosofi: Jurnal Tasawuf dan Pemikiran Islam

This article aims to explore the Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya’s original views on Sufism. Ibn Qayyim is regarded as an authority in Salafi circles who reject Sufism as a legitimate representation of Islam, especially its philosophical orientation. This article uses a literature research model to reach the finding that Ibn Qayyim understood Sufism as a moral system and part of the science of Islamic morality. Sufism aims to purify the soul to prepare it for its return to God along the path of love. The basis of Sufism as revised by Ibn Qayyim was the Qur’ān, the Sunnah, the traditions of the companions, the ideas of Ibn Taymiyya, and the teachings words of the early Sufi masters. Ibn Qayyim strongly adhered to the orthodox principles of Islamic scholarship later dubbed as Salafism, especially in terms of prioritizing the shari‘a over reason and rejecting esoteric interpretation (ta’wīl). For Ibn Qayyim, the Sufi philosophers were misled in overly relying on ta’wīl and disregarding the role...

The ill-established premise that Ibn Taymiyya was a stubborn opponent of Sufism no longer holds as Henri Laoust, George Makdisi, Thomas Homerin and more recently Assef Qays clearly demonstrated his links with al-taṣawwuf, especially with al-Qādiriyya Ḥanbalī brotherhood. Ibn Taymiyya’s position on the samāʿ, which he criticizes in many writings, should in no way be taken as a condemnation of Sufism as such or of the brotherhoods as has already been well demonstrated by several scholars. In his considerable writing production, his book al-Istiqāma is another proof of the closest Ibn Taymiyya’s position to Sufism. The great part of al-Istiqāma consists of a commentary of a well-known Ṣufī writing, al-Risāla al-Qushayriyya by Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Qushayrī (d. 465/1074). In his Risāla, al-Qushayrī quoted many times ʿAbd alRaḥmān al-Sulamī (d. 412/1021) who was his master. A close reading of Ibn Taymiyya's writings highlights the importance of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī, whom he quotes and often refers to. In my paper, based on al-Istiqāma, I will discuss Ibn Taymiyya’s position regarding al-Sulamī’s words reported by al-Qushayrī.