Ibn Kullab

Ibn Kullāb
ابن كُلاَّب
Personal life
BornUnknown
Died240 A.H. = 854 A.D.
241 A.H. = 855 A.D.
EraIslamic Golden Age
RegionAbbasid Caliphate
Main interest(s)Aqidah, Kalam (Islamic theology)
Notable workAl-Radd 'ala al-Hashwiyya
Religious life
ReligionIslam
DenominationSunni
JurisprudenceShafi'i
CreedAhl al-Hadith
Muslim leader
Influenced by
Influenced
Arabic name
Personal
(Ism)		ʿAbd Allāh
عبد الله
Patronymic
(Nasab)		ibn Saʿīd ibn Muḥammad ibn Kullāb al-Qaṭṭān
بن سعيد بن محمد بن كُلَّاب القطان
Teknonymic
(Kunya)		Abū Muḥammad
أبو محمد
Toponymic
(Nisba)		al-Tamīmī al-Baṣrī
التميمي البصري

Ibn Kullāb (Arabic: ابن كُلاَّب; d. ca. 241/855) was an early Sunni theologian (mutakallim) in Basra and Baghdad in the first half of the 9th century during the time of the Mihna and belonged, according to Ibn al-Nadim, to the traditionalist group of the Nawabit. His movement, also called Kullabiyya, merged and developed into Ash'arism, which, along with Maturidism and Atharism (practically: Hanbalism), forms the theological basis of Sunni Islam.

Ibn Kullab headed a group made up of mainly direct and second generation students of Al-Shafi that included Al-Karibisi, Al-Qalanisi, Al-Muhasibi, Al-Bukhari, Abu Thawr and Dawud-al Zahiri. They were known for their extreme criticism of Jahmis, Mu'tazilis, and Anthropomorphists by using rationalistic methods (Kalam) to defend orthodox creedal points of Sunni Islam. They contradicted the Mu'tazili doctrine of Khalq al-Qur'an (Createdness of the Qur'an) by introducing a distinction between the words of God (Kalam Allah) and its pronunciation.

He was praised by several famous scholars, including Ibn 'Asakir, Taj al-Din al-Subki, Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani, Ibn Qadi Shuhba, Jamal al-Din al-Isnawi, Kamal al-Din al-Bayadi in his Isharat al-Maram, Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi in his work Kitab Usul al-Din, al-Shahrastani in al-Milal wa al-Nihal, and al-Kawthari.

Name

His full name has been given as Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sāʿīd ibn Muḥammad ibn Kullāb al-Qaṭṭān al-Tamīmī al-Baṣrī. Muslim biographers differed on both the meaning of and reading of his name. They differed between Kullāb and Kilāb with the majority reading it as Kullāb and interpreting the meaning to also be indicative of a theological programme. The Arabic word kullāb means "hook" so the name Ibn Kullāb was interpreted to indicate his attempt at winning over theological opponents. The sobriquet al-Qattān suggests he was a cotton merchant, however, it is possibly a family name and he was potentially related to the Basran traditionalist Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān al-Tamīmī.

Life

Nothing is known about his life. He belonged to the generation of Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Ishaq ibn Rahwayh. His precise year of birth is unknown, but he lived in the period of the 'Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun.

Students

It has been said that Dawud al-Zahiri, al-Bukhari and al-Harith al-Muhasibi learned kalam from him, according to al-Dhahabi in his Siyar A'lam Al-Nubala'. It has been reported also that al-Junayd al-Baghdadi was one of his students.

Death

He died in 240 AH, or according to some in 241 AH. b

Books

He has a number of works that are documented such as:

These books are lost, however remnants of them can be found in other works such as Maqalat al-Islamiyyin of Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari. He was also quoted by the early Ash'ari scholars such as Ibn Furak (d. 406H).

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ According to Benjamin Jokisch, those who converted to Islam became known as Nawabit (Neophytes) and formed the fundament of the traditionalist opposition in Baghdad. However it was also used by scholars such as al-Jahiz as a term for a group he and other Mu'tazilites grew increasingly worried at for they were seen as more intellectually able than them and had advanced in Kalam. Al-Jahiz confesses that they have been building up a type of solidarity against the Mu'tazila and have become aggressive against them, claiming to have on their side, "the masses, the recluses, the jurists, the hadith people and the ascetics". Wadad al-Qadi notes that all of those who wrote on them, aside from one, were Mu'tazilites or Mu'tazilite sympathisers and that he finds it curious that none of the Muslim heresiographers mention them as a sect, aside from Ibn al-Nadim, who Wadad would hesitate to call a heresiographer. Wadad concludes, "Indeed, under different names, they are still with us today."
  2. ↑ The Kullabiyya, a moderate traditionalist movement, which was intended to revive the early Sunni Islam and later on turned into the Ash'ariyya.
  3. ↑ In contrast, J. Halverson notes: 'Conversely, when we look at Hanbalism too, we can see quite clearly that it is incorrect to consider Hanbalism and “Atharism” to be synonymous. The works of Hanbalite scholars such as Ibn 'Aqil (d. 1119 CE), Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 1201 CE), and Najm al-Din al-Tufi (d. 1316 CE), among a few others, reveal instances of distinctly theological ideas occurring within Hanbalism, making it a far more diverse tradition than one may otherwise suspect. However, the overwhelming majority of Hanbalites did indeed fall firmly within the Athari camp with its unyielding rejection of theology. . . The Atharis can thus be described as a school or movement led by a contingent of scholars (ulama), typically Hanbalite or even Shafi'ite, that retained influence, or at the very least a shared sentiment and conception of piety, well beyond the limited range of Hanbalite communities. This body of scholars continued to reject theology in favour of strict textualism well after Ash'arism had infiltrated the Sunni schools of law. It is for these reasons that we must delineate the existence of a distinctly traditionalist, anti-theological movement, which defies strict identification with any particular madhhab, and therefore cannot be described as Hanbalite.'

References

  1. ↑ Christopher Melchert (1997). The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law: 9th-10th Centuries C.E. Brill Publishers. p. 69. ISBN 9789004109520.
  2. 1 2 Nathan Spannaus (2019). Preserving Islamic Tradition: Abu Nasr Qursawi and the Beginnings of Modern Reformism. Oxford University Press. p. 147. ISBN 9780190654900.
  3. 1 2 Salim Ayduz; Caner Dagli (2010). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam. Oxford University Press. p. 58. ISBN 9780199812578. Ibn Kullab was a scholar of Ahl al-Sunnat wa-al-Jamaʿah and established the Kullabiya school.
  4. ↑ Muhammad Salih al-Ghursi. "منهج الأشاعرة في العقيدة بين الحقائق والأوهام » بيان حال الإمام أبي محمد عبد الله بن كُلاَّب" (in Arabic).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  5. ↑ Jamil, Khairil Husaini Bin. "Ḥadīth, Piety and Law: Selected Studies." By Christopher Melchert. Atlanta, Georgia: Lockwood Press, 2015. Pp. 359. ISBN 978-1-937040-49-9. (2018): 263-267. "Melchert has proposed several names such as al-Karābīsī, Ibn Kullāb, al-Muḥāsibi, al-Qalānisī and others who were loosely associated with al-Shāfiʿī..."
  6. ↑ Laury Silvers (2010). A Soaring Minaret: Abu Bakr al-Wasiti and the Rise of Baghdadi Sufism. State University of New York Press. p. 69. ISBN 9781438431727. Wasiti's position on this matter seem to be in keeping with the early Ahl al-Hadith theologian Ibn Kullab (d. ca. 240/855)
  7. ↑ Farid Suleiman (2019). Ibn Taymiyya und die Attribute Gottes (in German). Walter de Gruyter GmbH. p. 71. ISBN 9783110623277. Diese sind vielmehr – wie der ašʿaritische Doxograph ʿAbd al-Qāhir al-Baġdādī (gest. 429/1037) sie nennt – die frühen Generationen der spekulativen Theologen unter den Traditionalisten (al-mutaqaddimün min mutakallimi ahl al-hadit);" allen voran Ibn Kulläb (gest. 241/855), aber auch Denker wie al-Muhäsibi (gest. 243/857) und al-Qalänisi (bl. in der zweiten Hälfte des 3./9. Jhs.).
  8. 1 2 3 van Ess, Josef (2004). "Ibn Kullāb". In Bearman, P. J.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. & Heinrichs, W. P. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume XII: Supplement. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 391–392. ISBN 978-90-04-13974-9.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Benjamin Jokisch (2007). Islamic Imperial Law: Harun-al-Rashid's Codification Project. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 357–358. ISBN 9783110190489.
  10. 1 2 Benjamin Jokisch (2007). Islamic Imperial Law: Harun-al-Rashid's Codification Project. Walter de Gruyter. p. 622. ISBN 9783110190489.
  11. ↑ al-Qadi, Wadad (1993). "The Earliest "Nābita" and the Paradigmatic "Nawābit"". Studia Islamica (78). Brill: 51–53, 59, 61. doi:10.2307/1595606. JSTOR 1595606.
  12. ↑ Jeffry R. Halverson (2010). Theology and Creed in Sunni Islam: The Muslim Brotherhood, Ash'arism, and Political Sunnism. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 35–36. ISBN 9780230106581.
  13. ↑ The Adversaries of Aḥmad Ibn Ḥanbal. Christopher Melchert T. 44, Fasc. 2 (Apr., 1997), pp. 234-253: "Al-Karabisi's (And Ibn Kullabs) doctrine of the pronunciation was taken up after him by Ahmad al-Sarrak (fl. ca. 240/854-855), Abu Thawr (d. 240/854), Ibn Kullab (d. ca. 240/854-855), al-Harit al-Muhasibi (d. 243/857-858), Dawud al-Zahiri (d. 270/884), and even al-Bukhari (d. 256/870). Indeed, most of the known semi-rationalist Kullabi school were loosely associated with Al-Shafi'i."
  14. ↑ Ahmed el-Shamsy. "Canonization beyond the Shāfiʿī School", The Canonization of Islamic Law, Cambridge University Press, 2013-10-21, pp. 194–220, doi:10.1017/cbo9781139649711.013, ISBN 978-1-139-64971-1, retrieved 2023-08-14
  15. ↑ "Ibn Kullāb — Brill". Brill Online Reference Works. 24 April 2012.
  16. ↑ Hamad al-Sinan; Fawzi al-'Anjari. "أهل السنة الأشاعرة شهادة علماء الأمة وأدلتهم » شبهة مرور أبي الحسن الأشعري بثلاث مراحل والرد على المرحلتين الأولى والثانية" [Ahl al-Sunna: The Ash'aris - The Testimony and Proofs of the Scholars] (in Arabic). Translated by Abdul Aziz Suraqah. Forewords by: Wahbah al-Zuhayli, Muhammad Sa'id Ramadan al-Buti, 'Ali Gum'a, 'Ali al-Jifri, and others.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  17. 1 2 van Ess, Josef (2017). "Ibn Kullāb". Theology and Society Online. Brill. doi:10.1163/2589-7047_TSO_COM_04C0601.
  18. ↑ al-Dhahabi. Siyar A'lam Al-Nubala'. Islamweb. p. 174.
  19. ↑ "İBN KÜLLÂB". islamansiklopedisi.org.tr (in Turkish). İslâm Ansiklopedisi.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
Early Islamic scholars
Muhammad, The final Messenger of God (570–632) the Constitution of Medina, taught the Quran, and advised his companions
Abdullah ibn Masud (died 653) taughtAli (607–661) fourth caliph taughtAisha, Muhammad's wife and Abu Bakr's daughter taughtAbd Allah ibn Abbas (618–687) taughtZayd ibn Thabit (610–660) taughtUmar (579–644) second caliph taughtAbu Hurairah (603–681) taught
Alqama ibn Qays (died 681) taughtHusayn ibn Ali (626–680) taughtQasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr (657–725) taught and raised by AishaUrwah ibn Zubayr (died 713) taught by Aisha, he then taughtSaid ibn al-Musayyib (637–715) taughtAbdullah ibn Umar (614–693) taughtAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr (624–692) taught by Aisha, he then taught
Ibrahim al-Nakha’i taughtAli ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (659–712) taughtHisham ibn Urwah (667–772) taughtIbn Shihab al-Zuhri (died 741) taughtSalim ibn Abd-Allah ibn Umar taughtUmar ibn Abdul Aziz (682–720) raised and taught by Abdullah ibn Umar
Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman taughtMuhammad al-Baqir (676–733) taughtFarwah bint al-Qasim Jafar's mother
Abu Hanifa (699–767) wrote Al Fiqh Al Akbar and Kitab Al-Athar, jurisprudence followed by Sunni, Sunni Sufi, Barelvi, Deobandi, Zaidiyyah and originally by the Fatimid and taughtZayd ibn Ali (695–740)Ja'far bin Muhammad Al-Baqir (702–765) Muhammad and Ali's great great grand son, jurisprudence followed by Shia, he taughtMalik ibn Anas (711–795) wrote Muwatta, jurisprudence from early Medina period now mostly followed by Maliki Sunnis in North Africa, and taughtAl-Waqidi (748–822) wrote history books like Kitab al-Tarikh wa al-Maghazi, student of Malik ibn AnasAbu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Abdul Hakam (died 829) wrote biographies and history books, student of Malik ibn Anas
Abu Yusuf (729–798) wrote Usul al-fiqhMuhammad al-Shaybani (749–805)al-Shafi‘i (767–820) wrote Al-Risala, jurisprudence followed by Shafi'i Sunnis and Sufis, and taughtIsmail ibn IbrahimAli ibn al-Madini (778–849) wrote The Book of Knowledge of the CompanionsIbn Hisham (died 833) wrote early history and As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah, Muhammad's biography
Isma'il ibn Ja'far (719–775)Musa al-Kadhim (745–799)Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855) wrote Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal jurisprudence followed by Hanbali Sunnis and SufisMuhammad al-Bukhari (810–870) wrote Sahih al-Bukhari hadith booksMuslim ibn al-Hajjaj (815–875) wrote Sahih Muslim hadith booksDawud al-Zahiri (815–883/4) founded the Zahiri schoolMuhammad ibn Isa at-Tirmidhi (824–892) wrote Jami` at-Tirmidhi hadith booksAl-Baladhuri (died 892) wrote early history Futuh al-Buldan, Genealogies of the Nobles
Ibn Majah (824–887) wrote Sunan ibn Majah hadith bookAbu Dawood (817–889) wrote Sunan Abu Dawood Hadith Book
Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni (864- 941) wrote Kitab al-Kafi hadith book followed by Twelver ShiaMuhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (838–923) wrote History of the Prophets and Kings, Tafsir al-TabariAbu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (874–936) wrote Maqālāt al-islāmīyīn, Kitāb al-luma, Kitāb al-ibāna 'an usūl al-diyāna
Ibn Babawayh (923–991) wrote Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih jurisprudence followed by Twelver ShiaSharif Razi (930–977) wrote Nahj al-Balagha followed by Twelver ShiaNasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201–1274) wrote jurisprudence books followed by Ismaili and Twelver ShiaAl-Ghazali (1058–1111) wrote The Niche for Lights, The Incoherence of the Philosophers, The Alchemy of Happiness on SufismRumi (1207–1273) wrote Masnavi, Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi on Sufism
Key: Some of Muhammad's CompanionsKey: Taught in MedinaKey: Taught in IraqKey: Worked in SyriaKey: Travelled extensively collecting the sayings of Muhammad and compiled books of hadithKey: Worked in Persia