Islam and the State in Ibn Taymiyya: Translation and Analysis

by Jaan S. Islam, Adem Eryigit

Overview

"Proto-Salafist" 14th-century theologian Ibn Taymiyya is recognized as the intellectual forefather of contemporary Salafism and Jihadism. This volume offers a unique approach to the study of Ibn Taymiyya, by offering an English translation of his fundamental political treatise, The Office of Islamic Government, and shorter collections from The Collected Fatwas and The Prophetic Way, and Islamic Governance in Reconciling between the Ruler and the Ruled. The volume not only sheds light on these primary sources through translation and annotation, but also offers a theoretical analysis of Ibn Taymiyya’s thought and how his legal views can be reconciled with current trends in Islamic political theory. The analysis provides an overview of Ibn Taymiyya’s geopolitical context, and includes an original study of his normative political thought. In examining the contemporary implications of Ibn Taymiyya’s political theology, the authors explore his doctrine of the Islamic state in the context of Islamic decolonial theory.

Islam and the State in Ibn Taymiyya will appeal to academics in the fields of political science and religious studies, particularly within the field of Islamic history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032131856
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/29/2024
Series:	Culture and Civilization in the Middle East
Pages:	290
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jaan S. Islam is a PhD Candidate of Islamic Studies and AHRC Doctoral Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. He has multiple publications in comparative political thought, and currently studies Salafī-Jihadism and decolonial political theory. Islam’s forthcoming papers include an analysis of postmodern influences on jihadist thought, and a linguistic and in-tellectual history of Salafism.

Adem Eryiğit is an Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Iğdır. He has numerous publications in Islamic theology, and his latest book studies the political thought of Ibn Taymiyya and his theory of jihad. Eryiğit previously studied for eight years in Mecca, and completed his PhD at the University of Ankara.

Table of Contents

Part I: Introduction 1: Introduction 2: The Works: Their Author, Significance Part II: The Translation 3: The Translation (Part One): The Office of Islamic Government 4: The Translation (Part Two): Ordering Good and Prohibiting Evil 5: The Translation (Part Three): The Compiled Fatwas, The Prophetic Way Against the Shiʿites, and ‘Islamic Governance’ on the Importance of Islamic Government Part III: Analysis 6: Analysis and Comparison of Ibn Taymiyya’s Political Thought and Feasibility of the Islamic State 7: The Caliphate and the Nation-State: Navigating Ibn Taymiyya in a (post-)Modern World Glossary References Index

Editorial Reviews

"The eighth/fourteenth-century Damascene polymath Ibn Taymiyya is the single most influential authority in modern Islam, endlessly invoked by reformists and conservatives alike. Much has been written about his remarkable political thought, and a distinctly political and action-oriented streak in the entirety of his massive corpus has been suggested before. Thanks to Jaan Islam and Adem Eryiğit, we now have access to an authoritative collection of his political writings in the English language that are competently translated and meticulously annotated. The analytical essays review the existing scholarship and insightfully identify the existing tensions and future directions in the growing scholarship on Taymiyyan political thought."

Ovamir Anjum, Imam Khattab Chair of Islamic Studies, Department of Philosophy, University of Toledo

"This valuable work offers annotated translations and contextual analysis of some of Ibn Taymiyya’s key writings. It is a useful addition to the relatively limited scholarly translations available from this highly influential and frequently misunderstood premodern scholar’s writings. This volume will doubtless prove beneficial to students of Ibn Taymiyya’s writings, particularly in the realm of political thought."

Usaama al-Azami, Departmental Lecturer of Contemporary Islamic Studies, St Antony’s College, Oxford University

"In this timely and ambitious book, Islam and Eryiǧit translate and analyze the writings of the seminal medieval Damascene theologian and Sunni jurist Ibn Taymiyya. In addition to their translation, they offer an astute analysis of Ibn Taymiyya’s thinking within the context of globalization and contemporary times. This is a valuable book for those who are interested in connecting the thought of earlier Islamic luminaries to modern times."

Joseph J. Kaminski, Associate Professor of International Relations, International University of Sarajevo

From the Publisher