Livnat Holtzman
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780748689569
- eISBN:
- 9781474444828
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748689569.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Anthropomorphism in Islam presents a range of issues that encompass the problematics of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt. The book focuses on aḥādīth al-ṣifāt as popular oral literature; the use of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt ...
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Anthropomorphism in Islam presents a range of issues that encompass the problematics of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt. The book focuses on aḥādīth al-ṣifāt as popular oral literature; the use of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt in the traditionalistic discourse; and aḥādīth al-ṣifāt as iconic texts in the public sphere. These issues form the demarcation lines between ultra-traditionalism, middle-of-the-road traditionalism, and traditional-rationalism. The major findings of Anthropomorphism in Islam are as follows: first, the ultra-traditionalists were more receptive to aḥādīth al-ṣifāt than other middle-of-the-road muḥaddithūn. Second, the ultra-traditionalists were more attentive to the social function that aḥādīth al-ṣifāt served in offering the masses an Islamic religiosity which provided a direct way to perceive God without the interference of mediators. Third, the ultra-traditionalists structured the iconicity of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt by perfecting their skills as performers. Accordingly, Anthropomorphism in Islam offered the first large-scale examination of gestures that were part of the process of transmitting aḥādīth al-ṣifāṭ. These gestures symbolised the main features of the long-term debate between the flexible Hanbalites and the rigid Ashʿarites. Aḥādīth al-ṣifāt and the gestures that accompanied their recitation were among the most powerful icons of Islamic traditionalism.Less
Anthropomorphism in Islam presents a range of issues that encompass the problematics of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt. The book focuses on aḥādīth al-ṣifāt as popular oral literature; the use of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt in the traditionalistic discourse; and aḥādīth al-ṣifāt as iconic texts in the public sphere. These issues form the demarcation lines between ultra-traditionalism, middle-of-the-road traditionalism, and traditional-rationalism. The major findings of Anthropomorphism in Islam are as follows: first, the ultra-traditionalists were more receptive to aḥādīth al-ṣifāt than other middle-of-the-road muḥaddithūn. Second, the ultra-traditionalists were more attentive to the social function that aḥādīth al-ṣifāt served in offering the masses an Islamic religiosity which provided a direct way to perceive God without the interference of mediators. Third, the ultra-traditionalists structured the iconicity of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt by perfecting their skills as performers. Accordingly, Anthropomorphism in Islam offered the first large-scale examination of gestures that were part of the process of transmitting aḥādīth al-ṣifāṭ. These gestures symbolised the main features of the long-term debate between the flexible Hanbalites and the rigid Ashʿarites. Aḥādīth al-ṣifāt and the gestures that accompanied their recitation were among the most powerful icons of Islamic traditionalism.
Livnat Holtzman
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780748689569
- eISBN:
- 9781474444828
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748689569.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
More than any other issue in early and medieval Islamic theology, anthropomorphism (tashbīh) stood at the heart of many theological debates. These debates were not purely intellectual; they were ...
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More than any other issue in early and medieval Islamic theology, anthropomorphism (tashbīh) stood at the heart of many theological debates. These debates were not purely intellectual; they were intrinsically linked to political struggles over hegemony. The way a scholar interpreted the anthropomorphic descriptions of God in the Qur’an and the Hadith (for instance, God’s hand, God’s laughter or God’s sitting on the heavenly throne) often reflected his political and social stature, and his theological affinity. This book focuses on aḥādīth al-ṣifāt – the traditions that depict God and His attributes in an anthropomorphic language. The book reveals the way these traditions were studied and interpreted in the circles of Islamic traditionalism which included ultra-traditionalists (the Hanbalites and their forerunners) and middle-of-the-road traditionalists (Ash’arites and their forerunners). The book presents an in-depth literary analysis of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt while considering the role of the early scholars of Hadith in shaping the narrative of these anthropomorphic texts. The book also offers the first scholarly and systematic presentation of hand, face, and bodily gestures that the scholars performed while transmitting the anthropomorphic traditions. The book goes on to discuss the inner controversies in the prominent traditionalistic learning centres of the Islamic world regarding the way to understand and interpret these anthropomorphic traditions. Through a close, contextualized, and interdisciplinary reading in Hadith compilations, theological treatises, and historical sources, this book offers an evaluation and understanding of the traditionalistic endeavours to define anthropomorphism in the most crucial and indeed most formative period of Islamic thought.Less
More than any other issue in early and medieval Islamic theology, anthropomorphism (tashbīh) stood at the heart of many theological debates. These debates were not purely intellectual; they were intrinsically linked to political struggles over hegemony. The way a scholar interpreted the anthropomorphic descriptions of God in the Qur’an and the Hadith (for instance, God’s hand, God’s laughter or God’s sitting on the heavenly throne) often reflected his political and social stature, and his theological affinity. This book focuses on aḥādīth al-ṣifāt – the traditions that depict God and His attributes in an anthropomorphic language. The book reveals the way these traditions were studied and interpreted in the circles of Islamic traditionalism which included ultra-traditionalists (the Hanbalites and their forerunners) and middle-of-the-road traditionalists (Ash’arites and their forerunners). The book presents an in-depth literary analysis of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt while considering the role of the early scholars of Hadith in shaping the narrative of these anthropomorphic texts. The book also offers the first scholarly and systematic presentation of hand, face, and bodily gestures that the scholars performed while transmitting the anthropomorphic traditions. The book goes on to discuss the inner controversies in the prominent traditionalistic learning centres of the Islamic world regarding the way to understand and interpret these anthropomorphic traditions. Through a close, contextualized, and interdisciplinary reading in Hadith compilations, theological treatises, and historical sources, this book offers an evaluation and understanding of the traditionalistic endeavours to define anthropomorphism in the most crucial and indeed most formative period of Islamic thought.
