Ibn Qudama (January/February 11477 July 1223) was an

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

and

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

of the

Hanbali school The Hanbali school or Hanbalism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It is named after and based on the teachings of the 9th-century scholar, jurist and traditio ...

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

. Born in the Palestine region, Ibn Qudama authored many important treatises on

Islamic jurisprudence ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

and religious doctrine, including one of the standard works of Hanbali law, the revered ''al-Mughni''. Ibn Qudama is highly regarded in Sunni Islam for being one of the most notable and influential thinkers of the

Hanbali The Hanbali school or Hanbalism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It is named after and based on the teachings of the 9th-century scholar, jurist and tradit ...

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

of orthodox Sunni jurisprudence. Within that school, he is one of the few thinkers to be given the honorific epithet of Shaykh of Islam, which is a prestigious title bestowed by Sunnis on some of the most important thinkers of their tradition. A proponent of the classical Sunni position of the "differences between the scholars being a mercy," Ibn Qudama is famous for saying, "The consensus of the leaders of jurisprudence is an overwhelming proof, and their disagreement is a vast mercy."

Life

Ibn Qudama was born in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

Jammain Jamma'in () is a Palestinian people, Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate of the State of Palestine, in the northern West Bank, located southwest of Nablus, northwest of Salfit and north of Ramallah. According to the Palestinian Central B ...

, a town near

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

(''Bayt al-Maqdīs'' in the Arabic vernacular, whence his extended name), in 1147 during the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

to the revered Hanbali preacher and mystic Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Qudāma (d. 1162), "a man known for his asceticism" and in whose honor "a mosque was aterbuilt in Damascus." Having received the first phase of his education in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, where he studied the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

and the

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

extensively, Ibn Qudama made his first trip to

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

in 1166, in order to study law and

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...

under the tutelage of the renowned Hanbali mystic and jurist Abdul-Qadir Gilani (d. ca. 1167), who would go on to become one of the most widely venerated saints in all of Sunni Islam. Although Ibn Qudama's "discipleship was cut short by the latter’s death ... heexperience f studying under Abdul-Qadir Gilani... had its influence on the young" scholar, "who was to reserve a special place in his heart for mystics and mysticism" for the rest of his life. Ibn Qudama's first stay in Baghdad lasted four years, during which time he is also said to have written an important work criticizing what he deemed to be the excessive rationalism of

Ibn Aqil Ibn Aqil (1040–1119) was an Islamic scholar and theologian from Baghdad, Iraq. He was trained in the tenets of the Hanbali school for eleven years under scholars such as the Qadi Abu Ya'la ibn al-Farra'. Despite this, Ibn Aqil was forced in ...

(d. 1119), entitled ''Taḥrīm al-naẓar fī kutub ahl al-kalām'' (''The Censure of Rationalistic Theology''). During this sojourn in Baghdad, Ibn Qudama studied

under numerous teachers, including three female hadith masters, namely Khadīja al-Nahrawāniyya (d. 1175), Nafīsa al-Bazzāza (d. 1168), and Shuhda al-Kātiba (d. ca. 1175).Asma Sayeed, ''Women and Transmission of Religious Knowledge in Islam'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013), p. 170 In turn, all these various teachers gave Ibn Qudama the permission to begin teaching the principles of hadith to his own students, including important female disciples such as Zaynab bint al-Wāsiṭī (d. ca. 1240). Ibn Qudama fought in Saladin's Army during the battle to recapture Jerusalem in 1187. He visited Baghdad again in 1189 and 1196, making his

pilgrimage to Mecca Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

the previous year in 1195, before finally settling down in

in 1197, Ibn Qudama died on Saturday, the Day of Eid al-Fitr, on July 7, 1223.

Views

God

In theological creed, Ibn Qudama was one of the primary proponents of the Athari school of Sunni theology, which held that overt theological speculation was spiritually detrimental and supported drawing theology exclusively from the two sources of the

and the

. Regarding theology, Ibn Qudama famously said: "We have no need to know the meaning of what God—Exalted is He—intended by His attributes—He is Great and Almighty. No deed is intended by them. No obligation is linked to them except belief in them. Belief in them is possible without knowing their meaning."Jon Hoover, ''Ibn Taymiyya's Theodicy of Perpetual Optimism'' (Leiden: Brill, 2007), p. 53 According to one scholar, it is evident that Ibn Qudama "completely opposed discussion of theological matters and permitted no more than repeating what was said about God in the data of revelation." In other words, Ibn Qudama rejected "any attempt to link God’s attributes to the referential world of ordinary human language," which has led some scholars to describe Ibn Qudama's theology as "unreflective traditionalism,"Jon Hoover, ''Ibn Taymiyya's Theodicy of Perpetual Optimism'' (Leiden: Brill, 2007), p. 236 that is to say, as a theological point of view which purposefully avoided any type of speculation or reflection upon the nature of God. Ibn Qudama's attitude towards theology was challenged by certain later Hanbali thinkers like

Ibn Taymiyyah Ibn Taymiyya (; 22 January 1263 – 26 September 1328)Ibn Taymiyya, Taqi al-Din Ahmad, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195125580.001.0001/acref-9780195125580-e-959 was a Sunni Muslim ulama, ...

(d. 1328), who broke with this type of "unreflective traditionalism" in order to engage "in old and unprecedentedinterpretation of the meanings of God’s attributes."

Heresy

Ibn Qudama seems to have been a formidable opponent of

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...

in Islamic practice, as is evidenced by his famous words: "There is nothing outside of

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

but hell-fire; there is nothing outside of the truth but error; there is nothing outside of the Way of the Prophet but heretical innovation."

Intercession

Ibn Qudama appears to have been a supporter of seeking the intercession of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

in personal prayer, for he approvingly cites the famous prayer attributed to a hadith, cited among others by Ibn Hanbal (d. 855): "O God! I am turning to Thee with Thy Prophet, the Prophet of Mercy. O Muhammad! I am turning with you to my Lord for the fulfillment of my need." Ibn Qudama also relates that which al-’Utbiyy narrated concerning one's visitation to the grave of Muhammad in

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

I was sitting by the grave of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when a bedouin man 'a‘rābī''entered and said, “Peace be upon you, oh Messenger of God. I have heard God say n the Qur’an ‘Had they come to you he Prophetafter having done injustice to themselves innedand asked God for forgiveness and dditionally hadthe Messenger asked for forgiveness on their behalf, they would have found God to be oft-turning n repentanceand merciful.’ And I have come to you seeking forgiveness for my sin and seeking your intercession near God.” He he bedouin manthen said the following poem:

''O he who is the greatest of those buried in the grandest land,
fthose whose scent has made the valley and hills fragrant,
May my life be sacrificed for the grave that is your abode,
Where chastity, generosity and nobility reside!''

Al-’Utbiyy then narrates that he fell asleep and saw the Prophet in a dream and was informed that the bedouin man had indeed been forgiven.

After quoting the above event, Ibn Qudama explicitly recommends that Muslims should use the above prayer when visiting the Prophet. He thus approves of asking the Prophet for his intercession even after his earthly death.

Mysticism

As is attested to by numerous sources, Ibn Qudama was a devoted mystic and ascetic of the

Qadiriyya The Qadiriyya () or the Qadiri order () is a Sunni Sufi order (''Tariqa'') founded by Abdul Qadir Gilani (1077–1166, also transliterated ''Jilani''), who was a Hanbali scholar from Gilan, Iran. The order, with its many sub-orders, is widesp ...

order of

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

, and reserved "a special place in his heart for mystics and mysticism" for the entirety of his life. Having inherited the "spiritual mantle" (''k̲h̲irqa'') of Abdul-Qadir Gilani prior to the renowned spiritual master's death, Ibn Qudama was formally invested with the authority to initiate his own disciples into the Qadiriyya tariqa. Ibn Qudama later passed on the initiatic mantle to his cousin Ibrāhīm b. ʿAbd al-Wāḥid (d. 1217), another important

jurist, who became one of the primary Qadiriyya spiritual masters of the succeeding generation. According to some classical Sufi chains, another one of Ibn Qudama's major disciples was his nephew Ibn Abī ʿUmar Qudāma (d. 1283), who later bestowed the ''k̲h̲irqa'' upon

, who, as many recent academic studies have shown, actually appears to have been a devoted follower of the Qadiriyya Sufi order in his own right, despite his criticisms of several of the most widespread, orthodox Sufi practices of his day and, in particular, of the philosophical influence of the Akbari school of

Ibn Arabi Ibn Arabi (July 1165–November 1240) was an Andalusian Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest com ...

.Makdisi, 'Ibn Taymiya: a Sufi of the Qadiriya order', American Journal of Arabic Studies 1, part 1 (1973), pp 118-28 Due to Ibn Qudama's public support for the necessity of Sufism in orthodox Islamic practice, he gained a reputation for being one of "the eminent Sufis" of his era.

Relics

Ibn Qudama supported using the relics of Muhammad for the deriving of holy blessings,Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 322 as is evident from his approved citing, in ''al-Mug̲h̲nī'' 5:468, of the case of Abdullah ibn Umar (d. 693), whom he records as having placed "his hand on the seat of the Prophet's ''minbar'' ... ndthen aving proceeded towipe his face with it." This view was not novel or even unusual in any sense, as Ibn Qudama would have found established support for the use of relics in the

, and in Ibn Hanbal's well-documented love for the veneration of Muhammad's relics.

Saints

Ibn Qudama staunchly criticized all who questioned or rejected the existence of

saints In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...

, the veneration of whom had become an integral part of Sunni piety by the time periodAhmet T. Karamustafa, ''Sufism: The Formative Period'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), pp. 131-132 and which he "roundly endorsed."Ahmet T. Karamustafa, ''Sufism: The Formative Period'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), p. 132 As scholars have noted, Hanbali authors of the period were "united in their affirmation of sainthood and saintly miracles," and Ibn Qudama was no exception. Thus, Ibn Qudama vehemently criticized what he perceived to be the rationalizing tendencies of Ibn Aqil for his attack against the veneration of saints, saying: "As for the people of the Sunna who follow the traditions and pursue the path of the righteous ancestors, no imperfection taints them, not does any disgrace occur to them. Among them are the learned who practise their knowledge, the saints and the righteous men, the God-fearing and pious, the pure and the good, those who have attained the state of sainthood and the performance of miracles, and those who worship in humility and exert themselves in the study of religious law. It is with their praise that books and registers are adorned. Their annals embellish the congregations and assemblies. Hearts become alive at the mention of their life histories, and happiness ensues from following their footsteps. They are supported by religion; and religion is by them endorsed. Of them the Quran speaks; and the Quran they themselves express. And they are a refuge to men when events afflict them: for kings, and others of lesser rank, seek their visits, regarding their supplications to God as a means of obtaining blessings, and asking them to intercede for them with God."

Works

, Lum`at ul-I`tiqād ( The Illuminating Creed )
* al-Mughnī ( The Enricher ) * Kitāb ut-Tawwābīn * Ithbāt Sifat il-`Uluww * Dhamm ut-Ta'wīl * Al-Burhān Fī Bayan Al-Qurʿān * Al-ʿUmdah (“the support”), a beginner's guide to Ḥanbalī Fiqh. A number of commentaries have been written on this including "Sharh Al-`Umdah" of

. * Al-Muqniʿ Fi Fiqh Al-Imam Ahmad Bin Hanbal Ash-Shaybānī * " Kitāb Al-Hādī " or " Umdatul-Hazim fi-l Masail al-Zawa-id 'An Mukhtasar Abi-l Qasim " * Al-Kaafi * Rawḍat al-Nāẓir, a book on the

Usul al-Fiqh Principles of Islamic jurisprudence () are traditional methodological principles used in Islamic jurisprudence (''fiqh'') for deriving the rulings of Islamic law (''sharia''). Traditional theory of Islamic jurisprudence elaborates how the scri ...

significantly influenced by

Al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111), archaically Latinized as Algazelus, was a Shafi'i Sunni Muslim scholar and polymath. He is known as one of the most prominent and influential jurisconsults, legal theoreticians, muftis, philosophers, the ...

's work, Al-mustasfa. * Al-Waşiyyah (The Advice) * Ar-Riqqatu wal-Bukāe (sensibility and tears) * Taḥrīm al-Naḍar fī Kutub al-Kalām ( The Censure of Speculative Theology )
Mukhtasar Minhaj al-Qasidin
* Hikāyat ul-Munādhara Fil-Qur'an ( a documentation of a debate he had with the Ash'aris on the subject of the Qur'an ) * Muntakhab min al-'ilal lil-Khallāl ( المنتخب من العلل للخلال ) * As-Sirāt ul-Mustaqīm fī Ithbāt al-Harf al-Qadīm ( The Clear Path on Affirmation of the Eternal Letters ) ( الـصـراط الـمـسـتـقـيـم في إثـبـات الـحـرف الـقـديـم )

Notes

References

External links

Biodata at MuslimScholars.infoEntry from Brill Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibn Qudamah 1147 births 1223 deaths Hanbalis 12th-century Arab people 13th-century Arab people Palestinian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Hadith scholars Atharis 12th-century Muslim scholars of Islam 12th-century jurists 13th-century jurists