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The Historical and Historiographical Significance of the Detention of Ibn Taymiyya

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2009

Donald P. Little
Donald P. Little
Affiliation:
McGill University Montreal, MontrealCanada
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Extract

The sources for the Bahrî period are particularly rich for four significant problems of Mamluk history: (I) relations between the Mamluks and Mongols, especially as revealed by Mamluks who defected to the ÎlKhâns and Mongols who deserted to the Mamluks;1 (2) the role of Arab tribesmen, in particular the Âl-Fadl of Syria, in the Mamluk polity; (3) the role of the kuttâb in the Mamluk bureaucracy, particularly as exemplified by the infamous al-Nashû (d. A.H. 740/A.D. 1340) in the latter part of the reign of al-Malik al-Nâsir (693–741/1293–1341); (4) the role of the ‘Ulamâ’ in the dynamics of Mamluk politics, as illustrated by the career of Ibn Taymiyya, by all odds the most famous and in many ways the most important single figure in all of Mamluk history, both Bahrî and Circassian.

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Articles
Information
International Journal of Middle East Studies , Volume 4 , Issue 3 , July 1973 , pp. 311 - 327
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1973

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References

page 311 note 1 See Little, Donald P., An Introduction to Mamlūk Historiography (Wiesbaden: Steiner Verlag, 1970), pp. 114–31.Google Scholar

page 311 note 2 See Little, , Introduction, and Ulrich Haarmann, Quellenstudien zur frühen Mamlukenzeit (Freiburg: D. Robinschon, 1969).Google Scholar

page 312 note 1 The events of his life are most conveniently summarized by Laoust, H., ‘Ibn Taymiyya’, EI2, vol. III, pp. 951–5.Google ScholarCf. the same author's Essai sur les doctrines sociales et politiques de Takî-d-Dîn Ahmad b. Taimîya (Cairo: Imprimerie de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, 1939), pp. 110–50,Google Scholar and ‘La Biographie d'ibn Taimîya d'aprés Ibn Katîr’, Bulletin d'Etudes Orientales, vol. IX (1942), pp. 115–62.Google Scholar For the fullest summary, see Murad, H. Q., ‘Mihan of Ibn Taymiyya: A Narrative Account Based on a Comparative Analysis of Sources’ (Unpublished M.A. thesis, McGill University, 1968), pp. 74–112.Google Scholar

page 313 note 1 al-Mansûrî, Baybars, Zubdat al-Fikra fî Ta'rîkh al-Hijra, vol. ix, Cairo University Library MS, 24–28 (Photocopy of British Museum Or. MS, Add. 23325), 243 vo.;Google Scholar'l-Fidâ, Abū, al-Mukhtasr fî Akhbâr al-Bashar (Cairo: al-Matba'a al-Husayniyya alMisriyya, 1907–1908), Pt. IV, p. 52.Google Scholar

page 313 note 2 Baybars al-Mansûrî had lost his post as Chief of Chancery in A.H. 704 but was appointed Viceroy of the Empire in 711. In 705 he was absent from Egypt on an expedition against Sîs, which may help to explain his reticence on Ibn Taymiyya for this year.Google Scholar See Ashtor, E., ‘Baibars al-Mansûrî’, El2, vol. 1, pp. 1127–8,Google Scholar and Little, Introduction, p. 4. Abû 'l-Fidâ was a member of the Ayyûbid family of Syria, appointed ruler of Hâma in 710.Google ScholarLittle, Introduction, p.42;Google ScholarGibb, H. A. R., ‘Abû al-Fidâ’, EI2, vol. 1, p. 118.Google Scholar

page 314 note 1 I have discussed these writers in Introduction, pp. 46–73;Google Scholarcf. Murad, ‘Mihan’, pp. 10–36.Google Scholar

page 314 note 2 Al-Muqtafâ li-Ta'rîkh al-ShaykhShibâb al-Dîn Abî Shâma, 2 vols., Istanbul, Topkapisaray, Ahmad III MS, 2951.Google Scholar For biography, see Rosenthal, F., ‘al-Birzâlî’, El2, vol. 1, pp. 1238–9.Google Scholar

page 314 note 3 Jawâhir al-Sulûk, Cairo, Dâr al-Kutub MS, 7575 (hand copy of Bibliothèque Nationale MS, 6739);Google Scholar summary translation by Sauvaget, J., La Chronique de Damas d'al-Jazarî (Paris: Librairie Ancienne Honore Champion, 1949);Google ScholarTa'rîkh al-Jazarî, 3 vols., Cairo, Dâr al-Kutub MS, 995 ta'rîkh (photocopy of Köprülüzâde MS, 1037).Google Scholar For biography, see Ansaree, A. S. Bazmee, ‘al-Djazarî’, EI2, vol. 2, p. 522.Google Scholar

page 314 note 4 Dhayl Mir'ât al-Zamân, 4 vols. through the year A.H. 686 (Hyderabad: Matba'at Dâ'irat al-Ma‘ârif al-‘Uthmaniyya, 1954–1961,); Cairo, Arab League MS, 257 ta'rîkh, copy 2 (photocopy of Topkapisaray, Ahmad III MS, 2907). For his relationship to al-Jazarî, see Little, Introduction, pp. 57–9.Google Scholar

page 314 note 5 Al-Bidâya wal-Nihâya fî al-Ta'rîkh, 14. vols. (Cairo: Matba'at al-Sa'âda, 1932–1939).Google Scholar For a summary of his entries on Ibn Taymiyya, see Laoust, , BEO, vol. 14, pp. 115–62.Google Scholar For biography, Laoust, H., ‘Ibn Kathîr’, EI2, vol. 3, pp. 817–18.Google Scholar

page 314 note 6 ‘Uyûn al-Tawarîkh, vol. XII, Cairo, Dâr al-Kutub MS, 949 ta'rîkh.Google Scholar

page 314 note 7 Unfortunately, I have not been able to consult al-Dhahabî's annals for the relevant years, but he was a member of this group, and the indications are that he wrote in the same tradition. Although his monumental Ta'rîkh al-Islam ends with 700, there is a continuation by his own hand.Google Scholar See Cheneb, M. Ben, ‘al-Dhahabi’,EI2, vol. 2, pp.214–16.Google Scholar The summary entitled Duwal al-Islâm, 2 vols. (Hyderabad: Dâ'irat al-Ma'ârif al'Uthmâniyya, 1945–1946), contains very little on the mihan. For his relationship to the other contemporary Syrian historians, see Little, Introduction, pp. 61–6, and Murad, ‘Mihan’, pp. 29–36.Google Scholar

page 315 note 1 Kanz al-Durar wa-Jâmi' al-Ghurar, vol. IX, ed. by Roemer, H. R. (Cairo: Deutsches Archaeologisches Institut, 1960).Google Scholar

page 315 note 2 Haarmann, Quellenstudien, pp. 133–4.Google Scholar

page 315 note 3 al-Dawâdârî, Ibn, Kanz al-Durar, vol. 11, pp. 133–44.Google Scholar

page 315 note 4 Possibly because his sources were silent on the later Mihan.Google Scholar

page 315 note 5 Nihâyat al-Arab fî Funûn al-Adab, 32 vols., Cairo, Dâr al-Kutub MS, 549 ma'ârif 'âmma (Photocopy of Bibliothèque Nationale Arabic MS 5050).Google Scholar For biography, see Kratschkowsky, J., ‘al-Nuwairî’, El, vol. III, p. 968.Google Scholar

page 315 note 6 at-Arab, Nihâyat, vol. 30, pp. 29–38.Google ScholarThis passage is discussed in detail in Little, Introduction, pp. 29–31.Google Scholar

page 315 note 7 Some such as Mufaddal ibn Abî 'l-Fadâ'il, I have not mentioned since their accounts do not increase our understanding of the historical or the historiographical problem.Google Scholar

page 316 note 1 Kitâb al-'Ibar, 7 vols. (Cairo: Dar al-Tab'a al-Amîra, 1867–1868);Google Scholar for biography, Talbi, M., ‘Ibn Khaldún’, EI2, vol. 3, pp. 825–31.Google Scholar

page 316 note 2 Kitab Tâ'râkh Misr, 3 vols. (Cairo: al-Matba'a al-Kubrâ al-Amîriyya, 1893–1895);Google Scholar for biography, Brinner, W. M., ‘Ibn Iyâs’, EI2, vol. III, pp. 812–13.Google Scholar

page 316 note 3 ‘Iqd al-Jumân, 69 vols., Cairo, Dâr al-Kutub MS, 1584 ma’ârif 'âmma, for biography,Google ScholarMarçias, W., ‘al-'Aynî’, EI2, pp. 790–1.Google Scholar

page 316 note 4 'Iqd al-Jumâh, vol. LVIII, pp.363–4.Google Scholar

page 316 note 5 Kitâb al-Sulûk, 2 vols. (Cairo: Matba'at Lajnat al-Ta'lîf wal-Tarjama, 1934–1958).Google Scholar For biography, see Brockelmann, C., ‘al-Makrîzî’, EI1, vol. 3, pp. 175–6.Google Scholar

page 316 note 6 Al-Nujûm al-Zâhira (Cairo: Dâr al-Kutub al-Misriyya, 1930–1956), vol. 11, pp. 15.Google Scholar For biography, see Popper, W., ‘Abu 'l-Mahâsin’, EI2, vol. I, p. 138.Google Scholar

page 316 note 7 Cairo: Matba'at Hijâzî, 1938.Google Scholar

page 316 note 8 See Hajar, Ibn, al-Durar al-Kâmina, vol. 3, pp. 331–2.Google Scholar

page 316 note 9 See Murad, ‘Mihan’, pp. 37–8.Google Scholar

page 317 note 1 'Uqûd, pp. 206–48, 182–94, 257–78.Google Scholar

page 317 note 2 In al-Majmû' al-Mushtamal 'alâ al-Durar al-Âtiyya, ed. by al-Kurdî, Faraj Allâh (Cairo: Matba'at Kurdistân al-'Ilmiyya, 1911), pp. 137–231.Google Scholar

page 317 note 3 Brockelmann, C., Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1945–1949), vol. II, p. 369.Google Scholar

page 317 note 4 Masâlik al-Absâr, 20 vols., Cairo, Dâr al-Kutub MS, 559 ma'ârif 'âmma (photocopy of Istanbul, Aya Sofia MS, 3415–3439).Google Scholar For biography, Salibi, K. S., ‘Fadl Allâh’, EI2, vol. II, 732–3;Google Scholarcf. Murad, ‘Mihan’, pp. 43–6.Google Scholar

page 317 note 5 al-A'lâm al-'Aliyya fî Manâqib Ibn Taymiyya.Google Scholar See Brockelmann, , Geschichte, vol. 2, p. 119.Google Scholar

page 317 note 6 al-Dhayl 'alâ Tabaqât al-Hanâbila (Cairo: Matba'at al-Sunna al-Muhammadiyya,1952), vol. II, pp. 387–408.Google Scholar For biography, Makdisi, G., ‘Ibn Radhab’, El2, vol. III, pp. 901–2.Google Scholar

page 317 note 7 (Cairo: Maktabat al-Nahda al-Misriyya, 1951), vol. I, pp. 62–82.Google Scholar

page 318 note 1 al-Wâfî bil-Wafayât, Istanbul, Topkapisaray, Ahmad III MS, 29 20, VII, fos. 6 ro.– 15 ro.Google Scholar For biography, Hajar, Ibn, al-Durar al-Kâmina, vol. 2, p. 87.Google Scholar

page 318 note 2 Ta'rîkh Ibn al-Wardî, vol. II, pp. 284–90;Google Scholar for biography, Cheneb, M. Ben, ‘Ibn al-Wardî’, EI2, vol. 3, pp. 966–7.Google Scholar

page 318 note 3 Al-Manhal al-Sâfî (Cairo:Dâr al-Kutub, 1956), vol. I, pp. 336–40.Google Scholar

page 318 note 4 Al-Durar al-Kâmina, vol. I, pp. 144–60.Google Scholar For biography, Rosenthal, F., ‘Ibn Hadhar al-'Askalânî’, EI2, vol. 3, pp. 776–8.Google Scholar

page 318 note 5 Shadharât al-Dhahab (Cairo: Maktabat al-Qudsî, 1932), VI, 80–6.Google Scholar For biography, Rosenthal, F., ‘Ibn al-'Imad’, EI2, vol. 3, p. 807.Google Scholar

page 319 note 1 E.g. Majmû'at al-Rasâ’il al-Kubrâ, 2 vols. (Cairo: al-Matba'a al-Amîra al-Sharîfa, 1905); Majmû'at al-Rasâ'il wal-Masâ'il, 5 vols. (Cairo: Matba'at al-Manâr, 1930–1931);Google Scholar and Majmû'at Fatâwâ, 30 vols. (Riyad: 1962–1964). More important, no doubt, are his own memoirs on the mihan, such as Munâzarât Ibn Taymiyya ma' al-Misriyîn wal-Shâmiyîn, a 508-page manuscript in the Lucknow Nadwat al-'Ulamâ Library.Google Scholar

page 319 note 2 Al-Dhahabî, recorded by Ibn Hajar, al-Durar al-Kâmina, vol. I, p. 151;Google ScholarRajab, Ibn, al-Dhayl, vol. 2, p. 394;Google Scholar also, Hajar, Ibn, quoting Najm al-Dîn Sulaymân al-Tûfî al-Hanbalî (d. 712), al-Durar al-Kâmina, vol. I, pp. 153–6.Google ScholarCf. Murad, ‘Mihan’, pp. 33, 62, 65–7.Google Scholar The opinion of the Battûta, Mâlikî Ibn that Ibn Taymiyya was ‘a man of great ability and wide learning, but with some kink in his brain’ should also be mentioned: Ibn Battuta, Travels in Asia and Africa, 1325–1354, trans. by Gibb, H. A. R. (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd., 1929), p. 67.Google Scholar

page 319 note 3 al-'Imâd, Ibn, Shadharât al-Dhahab, vol.6, p. 82.Google Scholar

page 319 note 4 See Murad, ‘Mihan’, p. 72;Google ScholarLittle, Introduction, p. 96. The Birzâlî tradition is found both in the annals (al-Birzâlî's own as well as those historians who relied on him, such as al-Jazarî, al-Yûnînî, Ibn Kathîr, etc.) and the biographies; the Dhahabî tradition is preserved in the biographies only and is not found in any of the annals which I have been able to consult. That is to say, the annalists relied on al-Birzâlî or on a historian such as al-Jazarî who expanded al-Birzâlî's version; the biographers present both a Birzâlî version and a Dhahabî version, both of which are quite similar. Presumably Dhahabî's Dhayl— his continuation of his annals, Ta'rîkh al-Islâm — also contains his version of the mihan, but I have not been able to consult the Dhayl and the other annalists did not use it.Google Scholar

page 320 note 1 For this point see Laoust, H., ‘Le Réformisme d'Ibn Taymiyya’, Islamic Studies, 1, no. 3 (09, 1962), p. 27,Google Scholar and Murad, ‘Mihan’, pp. iii–vi.Google Scholar

page 320 note 2 Essai, but also Contribution à une Étude de la Méthodologie Canonique d'Ibn Taymîya (Cairo: IFAO, 1939),Google Scholar and Le Traité de droit public d'Ibn Taimîya (Beirut: Institut Français de Damas, 1948).Google Scholar

page 320 note 3 Ibn Taymiyya: Hayâtuhu wa-';Asruhu wa-Arâuhu wa-Fiqhuhu (Dâr al-Fikr al–'Arabî, 1952).Google Scholar

page 320 note 4 Murad, ‘Miban’, p. vii, mentions three ‘devotional works’:Google ScholarAbû'l-Hasan, ‘Alî Nadawî, Ta'rîkh-i Da'wat-o 'Azîmat (Azamgarh: 1957);Google ScholarKokan, Muhammad Yûsuf 'Umrî, Imâm Ibn Taymiyya (Lahore: 1960);Google Scholaral-Baytâr, Muhammad Bahjat, Hayât Shaykh al-Islâm Ibn Taymiyya (Beirut: 1961).Google Scholar

page 320 note 5 ‘Mihan.’Google Scholar

page 321 note 1 al-Dawadari, Ibn, Kanz al-Durar, 9, 139–42;Google Scholar also in al-Nuwayrî, , Nihâyat al-Arab, 30, 35–6; and a partial text in al-Yûnînî, Dhayl, Pt. iv, 48 vo.–49 ro.Google Scholar

page 321 note 2 E.g. Ibn 'Abd al-Hâdî, al-'Uqûd al-Durriyya, pp. 208–48, 330–60;Google Scholaral-Mar'î, al-Kawâkib al-Durriyya, pp. 167–83, 187–91, 192–8.Google Scholar

page 322 note 1 Al-Mar'î, al-Kawâkib al-Durrîyya, pp. 175–7;Google Scholaral-'Asqalânî, Ibn Hajar, al-Durar al-Kâmina, 1, 155–6.Google Scholar

page 322 note 2 Al-Mar'î, al-Kawâkib al-Durriyya, p. 173.Google Scholar

page 322 note 3 al-Dawâdârî, Ibn, Kanz al-Durar, vol. IX, p.144;Google Scholaral-Yûnînî, Dhayl, pt. iv, fol. 50 ro.Google Scholar

page 322 note 4 Kathîr, Ibn, al-Bidâya, vol. XIV, p. 22;Google ScholarLaoust, , BEO, vol. IX, PP. 329, 330.Google Scholar

page 322 note 5 Al-Mar'î, al-Kawâkib al-Durriyya, PP. 165–6.Google Scholar

page 322 note 6 BEO, IX, 144–5, 162.Google Scholar

page 323 note 1 That is, al-'aqîda al-hamawiyya al-kubrâ, which is a fatwâ prepared by Taymiyya, Ibn in response to an inquiry on the nature of the divine attributes. It is preserved in Majmû'at al-Rasâ'il al-Kubrâ, vol. I, pp. 414–69.Google Scholar

page 323 note 2 Ibn 'Abd al-Hâdî, al-' Uqûd al-Durrîyya, p. 199;Google Scholaral-Mar'î, al-Kawâkib al-Durrîyya, p. 174.Google Scholar

page 323 note 3 Al-Bidâya, XIV, 37;Google ScholarLaoust, BEO, IX, 136.Google Scholar

page 324 note 1 Dhayl, pt. IV, fo. 50 vo.Google Scholar

page 324 note 2 Ibn 'Abd al-Hâdî, al-'Uqûd al-Durriyya, p. 117.Google Scholar

page 324 note 3 Al-Durar al-Kâmina, I, 147.Google Scholar

page 324 note 4 P. 165.Google Scholar

page 324 note 5 Ibn 'Abd al-Hâdî, al-'Uqûd al-Durîyya, pp. 206–7.Google Scholar

page 324 note 6 Ibidp. 118;Google Scholar'Imâd, Ibn, Shadharât, p. 84.Google Scholar

page 324 note 7 E.g. A1-Birzâlî, al-Muqtafa, II, fo. 97 vo.;Google Scholaral-Yunini, Dhayl, pt. IV, fo. 50 ro.;Google Scholaral-Dâwâdarî, Ibn, Kanz al-Durar, vol. IX, pp. 143–4;Google ScholarKathîr, Ibn, al-Bidâya, vol. XIV, P. 37;Google Scholaral-Hâdî, Ibn 'Abd, al-'Uqud al-Durriyya, p. 204;Google Scholaral-Mar'î, al-Kawâkib al-Durrîyya, p. 175;Google ScholarHajar, Ibn, al-Durar al-Kâmina, I, 147.Google Scholar See also Danner, Victor, ‘Ibn 'Atâ’ Allah: A Sûfî of Mamluk Egypt’ (unpublished Harvard dissertation: 1970), pp. 214–23, for a full discussion of Nasr al-Manbijî's opposition to Ibn Taymiyya.Google ScholarThis dissertation is also useful for its discussion of theological issues and political implications involved in the Mihan, pp. 224–52.Google Scholar

page 324 note 8 al-Hâdî, Ibn 'Abd, al-' Uqûd al-Durriyya, P. 204.Google Scholar

page 324 note 9 Nihâyat al-Arab, vol. XXX, pp. 29–33.Google Scholar

page 324 note 10 Ibid

page 325 note 1 See note 7, p. 324 above.Google Scholar

page 325 note 2 al-Dawâdârî, Ibn, Kanz al-Durar, vol. IX, p. 146;Google ScholarKathîr, Ibn, al-Bidâya, vol. XIV, pp. 42–3;Google Scholaral-Hâdî, Ibn 'Abd, pp. 251–3;Google Scholaral-Mar'î, al-Kawâkib al-Durriyya, p. 178;Google Scholaral-Maqrîzî, Sulûk, vol. II, p. 30.Google Scholar

page 325 note 3 al-Hâdî, Ibn 'Abd, al- Uqûd al-Durriyya, pp. 279–82;Google ScholarKathîr, Ibn, al-Bidâya, vol. XIV, pp. 53–4;Google Scholaral-Mar'î, al-Kawâkib al-Durriyya, pp. 182–3.Google Scholar

page 325 note 4 The best evidence for this is the attempt of various scholars to persuade Ibn Taymiyya to state that his beliefs were in conformity with those of one – any one – of the four schools: Ibn 'Abd al-Hâdî, al-' Uqûd al-Durriyya, pp. 241–2.Google Scholar

page 326 note 1 Baybars I of Egypt (Oxford University Press, 1956), p. 18.Google Scholar

page 326 note 2 al-Hâdî, Ibn 'Abd, al-'Uqûd al-Durriyya, pp. 271, 277, 283.Google Scholar

page 326 note 3 Ibid pp. 363–4; Kathîr, Ibn, al-Bidâya, vol. XIV, p. 134.Google Scholar

page 326 note 4 al-Mar'î, al-Kawâkib al-Durriyya, p. 181.Google Scholar