the cambridge companion to CLASSICAL ISLAMIC THEOLOGY Thisseriesofcriticalreflectionsontheevolutionandmajorthemesof pre-modernMuslimtheologybeginswiththerevelationoftheQur’an, andextendstothebeginningsofmodernityintheeighteenthcentury. ThesignificanceofIslamictheologyreflectstheimmenseimportanceof Islaminthehistoryofmonotheism,towhichithasbroughtaunique approachandstyle,andarangeofsolutionswhichareofabidinginterest. Devotingespecialattentiontoquestionsofrationality,scripturalfidelity and the construction of ‘‘orthodoxy’’, this volume introduces key Muslimtheoriesofrevelation,creation,ethics,scripturalinterpretation, law,mysticismandeschatology.Throughoutthetreatmentisfirmlyset inthehistorical,socialandpoliticalcontextinwhichIslam’sdistinctive understandingofGodevolved. Despite its importance, Islamic theology has been neglected in recent scholarship, and this book provides a unique, scholarly but accessibleintroduction. Tim Winter is University Lecturer in Islamic Studies, Faculty of Divinity,UniversityofCambridge. Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008 cambridge companions to religion Aseriesofcompanionstomajortopicsandkeyfiguresintheologyand religiousstudies.Eachvolumecontainsspeciallycommissionedchapters byinternationalscholarswhichprovideanaccessibleandstimulating introductiontothesubjectfornewreadersandnon-specialists. Othertitlesintheseries the cambridge companion to christian doctrine editedbyColinGunton(1997) isbn 0521471184hardback isbn 052147695x paperback the cambridge companion to biblical interpretation editedbyJohnBarton(1998) isbn 0521481449hardback isbn 0521485932paperback the cambridge companion to dietrich bonhoeffer editedbyJohndeGruchy(1999) isbn 052158258x hardback isbn 0521587816paperback the cambridge companion to liberation theology, first edition editedbyChristopherRowland(1999) isbn 0521461448hardback isbn 0521467071paperback the cambridge companion to karl barth editedbyJohnWebster(2000) isbn 0521584760hardback isbn 0521585600paperback the cambridge companion to christian ethics editedbyRobinGill(2001) isbn 052177070x hardback isbn 0521779189paperback the cambridge companion to jesus editedbyMarkusBockmuehl(2001) isbn 0521792614hardback isbn 0521796784paperback the cambridge companion to feminist theology editedbySusanFrankParsons(2002) isbn 052166327x hardback isbn 0521663806paperback the cambridge companion to martin luther editedbyDonaldK.McKim(2003) isbn 0521816483hardback isbn 0521016738paperback the cambridge companion to st. paul editedbyJamesD.G.Dunn(2003) isbn 0521781558hardback isbn 0521786940paperback the cambridge companion to postmodern theology editedbyKevinJ.Vanhoozer(2003) isbn 052179062x hardback isbn 0521793955paperback the cambridge companion to john calvin editedbyDonaldK.McKim(2004) isbn 0521816475hardback isbn 052101672x paperback Continuedatthebackofthebook Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008 the cambridge companion to CLASSICAL ISLAMIC THEOLOGY Edited by Tim Winter Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008 cambridge university press Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown,Singapore,Sa˜oPaulo,Delhi CambridgeUniversityPress TheEdinburghBuilding,Cambridgecb28ru,uk PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9780521785495 ªCambridgeUniversityPress2008 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithout thewrittenpermissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished2008 PrintedintheUnitedKingdomattheUniversityPress,Cambridge AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData TheCambridgecompaniontoclassicalIslamictheology/editedbyTimWinter. p. cm.–(Cambridgecompanionstoreligion) Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. isbn 978-0-521-78058-2(hardback:alk.paper)–isbn 978-0-521-78549-5 (pbk.:alk.paper) 1.Islam–Theology–History. 2.Islam–Doctrines–History. I.Winter,T.J. II.Title: ClassicalIslamictheology. III.Series. bp166.1.c362008 297.209–dc22 2008008970 isbn 978-0-521-78058-2hardback isbn 978-0-521-78549-5paperback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceor accuracyofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredto inthispublication,anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuch websitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate. Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008 Contents Notes on contributors page ix Introduction 1 tim winter Part I Historical perspectives 1 Qur’an and hadith 19 m.a.s. abdel haleem 2 The early creed 33 khalid blankinship 3 Islamic philosophy (falsafa) 55 hossein ziai 4 The developed kala¯m tradition 77 oliver leaman (part i) and sajjad rizvi (part ii) 5 The social construction of orthodoxy 97 ahmed el shamsy Part II Themes 6 God: essence and attributes 121 nader el-bizri 7 Creation 141 david b. burrell csc 8 Ethics 161 steffen a.j. stelzer 9 Revelation 180 yahya michot 10 The existence of God 197 ayman shihadeh 11 Worship 218 william c. chittick vii Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008 viii Contents 12 Theological dimensions of Islamic law 237 umar f. abd-allah 13 Theology and Sufism 258 toby mayer 14 Epistemology and divine discourse 288 paul-a. hardy 15 Eschatology 308 marcia hermansen Index 325 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008 Notes on contributors Umar F. Abd-Allah received his PhD in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Chicago in 1978 with a dissertation on the origins of Islamic law. His principal interests are Islamic intellectual and spiritual history, the historyofIslamintheWest,andcomparativereligion.Hetaughtacademically in the United States, Canada and Saudi Arabia for more than twenty years before taking up his present post as chairperson and scholar-in-residence of the Nawawi Foundation (Chicago), an educational organisation devoted to exploringIslamicintellectual,spiritualandculturallegaciesandmakingthem relevant today. His most recent book, A Muslim in Victorian America: The LifeofAlexanderRussellWebb,appearedin2006. M.A.S. Abdel Haleem was educated at al-Azhar, Cairo, and Cambridge Universities,andhastaughtArabicattheuniversitiesofCambridgeandLondon since1966.HeisnowProfessorofIslamicStudiesattheSchoolofOrientaland African Studies, University of London. Among his recent publications are UnderstandingtheQur’an:ThemesandStyle(2001),EnglishTranslationsofthe Qur’an: The Making of an Image (2004), and a new translation of The Qur’an (2004). NaderEl-BizriisaResearchAssociateinPhilosophyatTheInstituteofIsmaili Studies,London,andanAffiliatedLecturerattheDepartmentofHistoryand Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. He is also a Visiting ProfessoratLincolnUniversity,andactsasaChercheurAssocie´ attheCentre NationaldelaRechercheScientifique(CNRS,Paris).Hepreviouslytaughtat the universities of Nottingham and Harvard and the American University of Beirut.Inaddition,heisanelectedmemberoftheSteeringCommitteeofthe Socie´te´ Internationale d’Histoire des Sciences et des Philosophies Arabes et Islamiques (CNRS, Paris). His areas of research are Arabic Sciences and Philosophy,Phenomenology,andArchitecturalHumanities. KhalidBlankinshipobtainedhisPhDinhistoryin1988,withaspecialisation inIslam,fromtheUniversityofWashington.Since 1990,hehasworkedasa professorintheDepartmentofReligionatTempleUniversityinPhiladelphia. He has remained active in research and lecturing on religion in general and Islaminparticular.Hisbook,TheEndoftheJihadState:TheReignofHisham ibn‘Abdal-MalikandtheCollapseoftheUmayyadswaspublishedin1994; ix Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008