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7/14/2015

Islam and ChristianMuslim Relations, 2015

BOOK REVIEW
5

On Taqld: Ibn al Qayyims Critique of Authority in Islamic Law, by Abdul-Rahman

Mustafa, New York, Oxford University Press, 2013, 256 pp., $74.00 (hardback), ISBN
9780199937516; ebook 37.50
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This volume is a recent addition to the narrow selection of studies focusing on the thought of the
H.anbal theologian and jurist from Damascus Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 1350), the prominent
disciple of the extremely creative and influential Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328). Ibn al-Qayyim, a
prolific author in his own right, dedicated his literary career to systematizing and interpreting
the theological and legal thought of Ibn Taymiyya. Most of the topics that Ibn al-Qayyim
explored in his writings were previously expounded by Ibn Taymiyya, albeit with less clarity
and elaboration.
Both Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya contributed to the debate among Muslim
scholars about taqld and ijtihd, the two contrasting modes of legal reasoning: taqld means
to imitate or blindly follow the opinions of ones predecessors, while ijtihd means to solve a
legal problem afresh by consulting the textual sources and using independent reasoning. In
Mamluk times, the taqld approach prevailed. Scholars refrained from independently
consulting the scriptural sources of the law, namely the Quran and Hadith, and mostly
duplicated the opinions of the eponymous founders of the various legal schools and their
disciples, which became entrenched as the exclusive source that mufts used in their rulings.
As a consequence, the use of ijtihd gradually vanished from the jurisprudents toolbox. This
is the reality that Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn al-Qayyim sought to change in their writings. Ibn
Taymiyyas views on taqld in Islamic jurisprudence and theology are scattered throughout his
oeuvre. In contrast, Ibn al-Qayyim allocated a massive part of his colossal compendium on the
principles of Islamic law, Ilm al-muwaqqin an Rabb al-lamn (Informing the Drafters of
Legal Documents on the Authority of the Lord of All Being), to taqld. In On Taqld, AbdulRahman Mustafa presents a close translation of the taqld part of this text and furnishes his
book with an introductory essay on Ibn al-Qayyims critique of taqld (160).
Mustafa relies on secondary sources to argue that Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyas heavy reliance on
his masters teachings did not necessarily mean that he duplicated Ibn Taymiyyas writings. For
Mustafa, this argument suffices to proceed without further reference to Ibn Taymiyya. However,
this does not serve his primary purpose, which is to evaluate Ibn al-Qayyims contribution to the
topic. The battle against taqld was central to Ibn Taymiyyas worldview, and whatever Ibn alQayyim had to say about taqld was nourished first and foremost by Ibn Taymiyyas political
experience and jurisprudential legacy.
Although Mustafa ignores the strong connection between Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya and Ibn
Taymiyya, he does offer a fresh angle on the subject matter. Mustafa begins by situating Ibn
al-Qayyims legal thought within modern debates on taqld between the Deobandi and Ahl-eHadith movements in South Asia. The Ahl-e-Hadith studied Ibn al-Qayyims text on taqld
meticulously and used it to attack the Deobandis, who followed the H.anaf school of law. This
led the Deobandi thinker H.abb Ah.mad Krnaw to compose a treatise in the 1930s in which
he refuted Ibn al-Qayyims arguments against taqld and issued a call for taqld. The H.anaf
school of law had consistently inclined toward taqld, and the Deobandis, as its modern

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Book review

successors, perceived taqld as a desirable device to revive the authentic spirit of the Islamic
heritage.
Mustafas introductory essay (160) examines various aspects of taqld in the history of
Islamic law, with a special emphasis on H.anaf scholarship. The relevance of taqld to Islam
nowadays is demonstrated by an insightful survey of pro-taqld and anti-taqld figures in
contemporary Islamic scholarship and politics. Mustafa describes taqld as a delicate
mechanism destined to defend the traditional institutions: it was meant to provide laymen with
peace of mind, a feeling of adhering to a single unified system of ruling; taqld compelled
scholars to follow one set of jurisprudential principles in their rulings rather than searching for
guiding principles in the writings of various scholars from other schools of law. Nonetheless,
several texts by medieval scholars that Mustafa presents reveal that the system of taqld did
not provide the much sought-after peace of mind for the laymen. On the contrary, a person
could never be certain whether the legal verdict ( fatw) he received was based on scripture, or
on the arbitrary ruling of a muft. Scholars who practised taqld had at their disposal a
powerful device to justify their legal and political preferences. Mustafa succeeds in
transmitting the incoherence, obscurity, cynicism, and at times absurdity regarding the actual
practice of taqld by providing examples from the rulings of pro-taqld H.anaf jurisprudents.
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyas chapter on taqld in Ilm al-muwaqqin raises many issues that
transcend the boundaries of Islamic law. Mustafas elaborate summary of this chapter (3759)
emphasizes the interrelationship between theology and law in Ibn al-Qayyims system of
argumentation, and it is here that Mustafa would have done well to have noted Ibn alQayyims debt to Ibn Taymiyya. In both legal and theological matters, Ibn Taymiyya followed
the same protocol, which included applying three principles in succession: (1) the scriptures in
themselves are sufficient for solving a legal or theological problem, and so they are consulted
first; (2) because there is no contradiction between divine revelation and non-corrupt human
reason, logical reasoning should be applied as well; and (3) the teachings of the earliest
generation of Muslims, the salaf, are another important source of authority. These principles
form the backdrop of Ibn al-Qayyims discussion on taqld and help clarify his stance. For
example, he explains that quoting a reliable hadith is not taqld; quoting the text while
acknowledging its veracity is not like blindly following the rulings of one scholar or another.
Rather, this action reflects complete obedience to God (177). Elsewhere, Ibn al-Qayyim claims
that a scholar who approaches the scriptures without feeling bound to the opinions of certain
scholars will surely find the most accurate answers to his questions (42).
The lions share of On Taqld is the translation, which is admirably fluent and accurate.
Mustafa does not translate Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyas entire discussion on taqld, but only the
polemical part that the Deobandis rejected. Mustafa bases his translation on Shaykh l
Salmns annotated edition of Ilm al-muwaqqin published in 2002, and translates the
section from volume 3, p. 447 to volume 4, p. 35, which contains a theoretical survey of
taqld and a didactic polemic with an imaginary pro-taqld scholar. However, he does not
translate a concluding paragraph on p. 36 of volume 4, in which Ibn al-Qayyim promises the
reader that his discussion of taqld is unprecedented and extraordinary. This boastful passage is
rather untypical of the humble scholar. Additionally, Mustafa leaves untranslated other parts of
Ilm al-muwaqqin that touch on taqld, such as the sixth volume, which contains practical
advice (fawid) to mufts, rare judicial rulings, amusing anecdotes, and witticisms. Volume 6
also includes many fatw attributed to the Prophet himself, which are used by Ibn al-Qayyim
to demonstrate his anti-taqld approach. There seems to be no justification for excluding this
important section from the translation and, indeed, Mustafa does mention several examples
from the sixth volume of Ilm al-muwaqqin in his introduction (41). Another disappointment
is the bibliography, which is not carefully edited and contains too many inaccurate and

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misplaced references. However, these are minor issues that do not diminish the importance of
Mustafas work.
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya presents unconventional and almost modern ideas on intellectual
freedom (ijtihd) versus intellectual tyranny (taqld), and he offers in Ilm al-muwaqqin a
call to free thinking. This call started with Ibn Taymiyya, who testified that he embraced the
views of Ah.mad ibn H.anbal (d. 855), the eponymous founder of the H.anbal school, not
because he imitated him, but because he had studied his views and found them tenable and
true (139). Ibn al-Qayyim in turn admitted that imitating ones teacher was indeed a natural
disposition that God had instilled in his creation, but, at the same time, he encouraged his
readers to check the veracity and tenability of the opinions of others, even if they were
admired teachers or scholars (169). This critical approach transcends the boundaries of Islamic
law and theology, and makes Ibn al-Qayyims discussion on taqld accessible to a broad
audience interested in the intellectual history of Islam. Mustafa is to be commended for his
considerable effort in making this stimulating and relevant text available to an Anglophone
audience.

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Reference
Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya. 2002. Ilm al-muwaqqin an Rabb al-lamn. Edited and annotated by Ab
Ubayda Mashhr b. H.asan l Salmn. Beirut: Dr al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya.
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Livnat Holtzman
Bar-Ilan University, Israel
livnat.holtsman@biu.ac.il
2015, Livnat Holtzman
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09596410.2015.1070607