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- Title
Seyfüddîn Âmidî'nin Tekfir'e Bakışı.
- Authors
ERYİĞİT, Adem
- Abstract
This paper examines the thought of Sayf al-Dın al-Amidî (d. 631/1233) regarding takfir (declaring another a non-believer), a practice which would become popularized in the generation after the death of the Prophet Muhammad by a sect known as the Kharajites. The Kharajites were a religio-political sect that would use takfîr as a kalâmic tool of excommunication, as well as a justification for violence against other Muslims. The group originates in the first century of hijrah following their excommunication of the Caliph 'Alî for mediating with his political challenger Mu'âwiya. In the centuries following the emergence of this sect, scholars of kalâm such as al-Amidî would begin to discuss and debate takfîr in the context of the greater Muslim community. In contrast to the Kharajites, a number of other sects al-Amidî would recognize as deviant would hold contrasting beliefs, including the Murji'ites who vehemently opposed the excommunication of anyone so long as they outwardly maintained belief in God and His prophet. While some of these scholarly debates over takfîr would become so heated as to result in excommunication between kalâmic schools, it would later be accepted that excessive takfîr was not necessarily a characteristic of any single Sunni sect, but rather a mentality that could manifest in any given kalâmic school. Many of these scholars would adopt a kalâmic formula designed to prevent excessive takfîr, the principle that the "those belonging to the qibla" (ahl al-qibla) ought not be excommunicated. In his formulation, Al-Amidî addresses a number of issues debated as potential reasons for takfîr, including the committing of major sins (murder, adultery, theft, etc.), abandonment of central Islamic obligations, opposing scholarly consensus, belief in the createdness of the Qur'ân, denying the beatific vision (ru'yâ), misinterpreting the divine attributes (şifât), and the excommunication of prophetic companions or other Muslims. This principle, as shown in this study, would be considered flexible by many of these scholars, who were willing to excommunicate followers of heretical movements. Al-Amidî, a prominent scholar living in the context of these debates surrounding excommunication, spent considerable energy on the question of takfîr and proposed a number of original insights. In attempting to minimize the application of takfîr, al-Amidî analyzed many of the specific issues discussed by previous scholars on the issue, arguing that many acts previously considered excommunicable in fact did not constitute disbelief. These groups include such sects as the Kharajites, Murji'ites, Mu'tazilites, Shi'ites and anthropomorphists, whom al-Amidî argues must not be excommunicated from the fold of Islam, drawing from both logical ('aqlî) and scriptural (naqlî) arguments. One of the central scriptural sources al-Amidî deploys is an oft-quoted prophetic tradition concerning the prediction of the Muslim nation splitting into 73 sects, only one of which will be saved from the hellfire - implying that these groups should still be recognized as Muslims. Conversely, questions regarding which al-Amidî would affirm the obligation for takfîr include denying prophecy, any aspect of divine revelation, belief in the divinity of objects or beings, denial of God and divine miracles, and insulting God, the prophets, or any aspect of the religion. This study further analyzes Al-Amidî's definitions of îmân (belief) and kufr (disbelief), the relationship between them, and his views on specific heretical sects as debated in the Sunni tradition.
- Subjects
MUHAMMAD, Prophet, d. 632; ISLAMIC countries; MUSLIMS; REVELATION; SIN; SECTS; ADULTERY
- Publication
KADER, 2021, Vol 19, Issue 1, p120
- ISSN
2602-2710
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.18317/kaderdergi.916583