Abstract
Al-Rāzī stated that specific criteria should exist for interpreting religious texts, with one of the
two in particular prioritizing the conflict of ʿaql [reason] and naql [revelation]. Accordingly, he developed
the theory of the hypothetical nature of linguistic evidence. According to al-Rāzī’s theory, literary evidence
have been exposed to possible errors from transferring al-nahw [lexicography, morphology, and grammar]
rules to the present day; different linguistic possibilities such as figurative speech homonymy and transfer
of meanings (naql al-lugha) are likely to have occurred in the process. Therefore, religious texts do not
express certainty when qarīnas [contextual clues] are absent. Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya,
leading names in the neo-classical Salafī understanding, described the view that literal evidence does not
express ʿilm [definitive knowledge] but rather expresses Ûann [speculative knowledge] as taghūt [an idol],
criticizing it to have a marginalizing and exclusionary style. The present article will examine the discourse of
religious exclusivism produced within the framework of the hypotheticality of language and will show that
this discourse is caused by Ibn Taymiyya’s and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya’s words being misunderstood. This
study will first explain what is meant by religious exclusion and provide the intellectual background of the
theory of the hypotheticality of language. Next, it will cover Ibn Taymiyya’s and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya’s
questioning of al-Rāzī’s religiosity, and finish with how the accusations against Rāzī had stemmed from a
misunderstanding of his ideas.
Keywords
Religious exclusion neo-classical Salafī understanding hypotheticality of language Fakhr ad- Dīn ar-Rāzī Ibn Taymiyyah Ibn Qayyim al-JawziyyaShare
Details
- Authors: Mehdi Cengiz, Assist. Prof., Artvin Çoruh University
- DOI: dx.doi.org/10.12658/Nazariyat.7.2.M0129en
- Year: 2021 (November) / Volume: 7 / Issue: 2
- Page: 157-175
- Full Text
- Other Languages:
-
Türkçe
- 21 Views
- Back to Issue