For various reasons the West has not been able to appreciate Ibn Taymiyyah's place in Islam. His criticism of Ash'ari Kalam, Greek logic and philosophy, monistic Sufism, Shi'i doctrines, and Christian faith have proved great obstacles to appreciating his contribution. His way of writing has also been to an extent responsible. Most of his writings are short or long responsa (fatawa) to particular questions, often recurring, put to him by different men at different times, rather than planned, systematic works on particular subjects. This makes the appreciation of his contribution somewhat difficult. Henri Laoust in France was the first to take serious notice of him. Since the publication of his Essay on the Social and Political Doctrines of Ibn Taymiyyah (1939), a few articles and books have appeared on Ibn Taymiyyah's thought, but they are far from giving any clear idea of his overall contribution to Islam, even less of assessing his role in its revival and renewal (tajdid). In fact, there has been little understanding of the concept of tajdid in Islam. This volume consists of selections from various writings of Ibn Taymiyyah included in Majmu' Fatawa Shaykh Al Islam (37 volumes) as well as some of his major works such as Minhaj as Sunnah An Nabawiyyah, Dar Ta'arud al Aql wa-An Naql, kitab Ar Rad alaa Mantaqayyin, Al-Istiqamah, and Iqtida As Sirat Al Mustaqeem. These selections will present a clearer and complete view of Ibn Taymiyyah's concept of Islamic faith, life and society. They are primarily intended to highlight his positive position and mention his criticisms and refutations of other positions only to the extent needed.

For various reasons the West has not been able to appreciate Ibn Taymiyyah's place in Islam. His criticism of Ash'ari Kalam, Greek logic and philosophy, monistic Sufism, Shi'i doctrines, and Christian faith have proved great obstacles to appreciating his contribution. His way of writing has also been to an extent responsible. Most of his writings are short or long responsa (fatawa) to particular questions, often recurring, put to him by different men at different times, rather than planned, systematic works on particular subjects. This makes the appreciation of his contribution somewhat difficult. Henri Laoust in France was the first to take serious notice of him. Since the publication of his Essay on the Social and Political Doctrines of Ibn Taymiyyah (1939), a few articles and books have appeared on Ibn Taymiyyah's thought, but they are far from giving any clear idea of his overall contribution to Islam, even less of assessing his role in its revival and renewal (tajdid). In fact, there has been little understanding of the concept of tajdid in Islam. This volume consists of selections from various writings of Ibn Taymiyyah included in Majmu' Fatawa Shaykh Al Islam (37 volumes) as well as some of his major works such as Minhaj as Sunnah An Nabawiyyah, Dar Ta'arud al Aql wa-An Naql, kitab Ar Rad alaa Mantaqayyin, Al-Istiqamah, and Iqtida As Sirat Al Mustaqeem. These selections will present a clearer and complete view of Ibn Taymiyyah's concept of Islamic faith, life and society. They are primarily intended to highlight his positive position and mention his criticisms and refutations of other positions only to the extent needed.

For various reasons the West has not been able to appreciate Ibn Taymiyyah's place in Islam. His criticism of Ash'ari Kalam, Greek logic and philosophy, monistic Sufism, Shi'i doctrines, and Christian faith have proved great obstacles to appreciating his contribution. His way of writing has also been to an extent responsible. Most of his writings are short or long responsa (fatawa) to particular questions, often recurring, put to him by different men at different times, rather than planned, systematic works on particular subjects. This makes the appreciation of his contribution somewhat difficult. Henri Laoust in France was the first to take serious notice of him. Since the publication of his Essay on the Social and Political Doctrines of Ibn Taymiyyah (1939), a few articles and books have appeared on Ibn Taymiyyah's thought, but they are far from giving any clear idea of his overall contribution to Islam, even less of assessing his role in its revival and renewal (tajdid). In fact, there has been little understanding of the concept of tajdid in Islam. This volume consists of selections from various writings of Ibn Taymiyyah included in Majmu' Fatawa Shaykh Al Islam (37 volumes) as well as some of his major works such as Minhaj as Sunnah An Nabawiyyah, Dar Ta'arud al Aql wa-An Naql, kitab Ar Rad alaa Mantaqayyin, Al-Istiqamah, and Iqtida As Sirat Al Mustaqeem. These selections will present a clearer and complete view of Ibn Taymiyyah's concept of Islamic faith, life and society. They are primarily intended to highlight his positive position and mention his criticisms and refutations of other positions only to the extent needed.

This revisionist account of the history of Islamic political thought from the early to the late medieval period focuses on Ibn Taymiyya, one of the most brilliant theologians of his day. This original study demonstrates how his influence shed new light on the entire trajectory of Islamic political thought. Although he did not reject the Caliphate ideal, as is commonly believed, he nevertheless radically redefined it by turning it into a rational political institution intended to serve the community (umma). Through creative reinterpretation, he deployed the Qur'anic concept of fitra (divinely endowed human nature) to centre the community of believers and its common-sense reading of revelation as the highest epistemic authority. In this way, he subverted the elitism that had become ensconced in classical theological, legal and spiritual doctrines, and tried to revive the ethico-political, rather than strictly legal, dimension of Islam. In reassessing Ibn Taymiyya's work, this book marks a major departure from traditional interpretations of medieval Islamic thought.

In Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya and the Divine Attributes Miriam Ovadia offers a thorough study of his voluminous theological work on anthropomorphism, al-Ṣawāʿiq al-Mursala (written ca. 1350), in which he rationalistically systemized the hermeneutics of his renowned mentor Ibn Taymiyya.