Anthropomorphism and Interpretation of the Qur'an in the Theology of Al-Qasim Ibn Ibrahim: Kitab Al-Mustarshid (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science) [Hardcover]

Binyamin Abrahamov (Author), Qasim Ibn Ibrahim (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1996 | ISBN-10: 9004104089 | ISBN-13: 978-9004104082 | Edition: annotated edition

This work deals with anthropomorphism and interpretation of the Qu'ran in the theology of the Zaidite imam al-Qasim ibn Ibrahim (785-860 AD). The edition and annotated translation of al-Qasim's epistle, "Kitab al-Mustarshid", is preceded by an introduction which examines early Islamic theology. For the abrogation of the literal meanings of Qur'anic anthropomorphic expressions, the author uses similies, idioms and phrases in Arabic, pieces of evidence from ancient Arabic poetry and rational arguments which often reflect the Mu`tazilite ways of dealing with anthropomorphism. The second subject, the place of the Qur'an in al-Qasim's writings and his methods of interpretation of the Qur'an, bears directly upon his doctrines in general and upon his doctrine of anti-anthropomorphism in particular, and also contributes to the understanding of the development of Qur'anic exegesis in the first half of the 9th century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'"This approach marks out the Epistle as an exercise in the application of which has received little attention to date and a work which will prove invaluable to and usable by comparative Arabic dialectologists, syntacticians and morphologists.'
Janet C.E. Watson, "British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 1997.

Language Notes

Text: English, Arabic (translation)
Original Language: Arabic

Product Details

• Hardcover: 152 pages
• Publisher: Brill Academic Pub; annotated edition edition (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9004104089
• ISBN-13: 978-9004104082
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,543,376 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Good source book, May 11, 2001

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Muzaffer Muctehitzade "hacibey" (Boston, Ma USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Anthropomorphism and Interpretation of the Qur'an in the Theology of Al-Qasim Ibn Ibrahim: Kitab Al-Mustarshid (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science) (Hardcover)

This book as the name indicates is the translation of Kitab-al Mustarshid. Al-Qasim in his book touches few fundamental concepts mostly about non-muhkem ayats such as visibility of God, location of God, hearing of God etc. Al-Qasim in principal tries to clarify these concepts using the Arabic usage of the words and also refering to Qur'an itself. Mostly he follows Mutazilite way of interpretation. He also refers to earlier interpreters such as Mujahid. This book is definitely a must read for persons who wants to read concepts and interpretations direct from the source. Book has Arabic original and English translation