This dissertation deals with Ibn Taymiyya's theory of the unity of God and of creation, or, as Muslim philosophers have posited the question, the relation between the oneness of God and the diversity that has come out of it. Indeed, Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328) responded to the same ontological question that earlier Muslim philosophers were concerned to answer. Although Ibn Taymiyya was a theologian, he did not encounter quite the same questions as the early kalam theologian whose concern it was to prove the existence of God. The dissertation discusses the forms this question took. / The introduction reviews Ibn Taymiyya's life, works and historical circumstances. The first chapter deals with Ibn Taymiyya's concept of God which is that of a real and actual being. God, for him, is not abstract in the way some Muslim theologians, philosophers and mystics had affirmed. / The second chapter discusses two great Muslim thinkers: al-Ghazali, who attempted to reconcile kalam with Ibn Sina's philosophy, and Ibn Rushd, who criticized both al-Ghazali and Ibn Sina and established a new philosophical approach to the notion of God and the process of creation. In this chapter we touch on the later development of both kalam and philosophy in Islam and show how Ibn Taymiyya, while pursuing the same goal as al-Ghazali in reconciling kalam and philosophy, drew benefit from these developments. / The third chapter goes to the core of Ibn Taymiyya's theory of diversity issuing from the oneness of God. This chapter shows the bold notions that Ibn Taymiyya believed represent the only possible answers to the question of creation: the essence of God as a substrate of generation; the eternity of the world; and God's attributes as species and genera, actualized in our concrete world. / The conclusion illustrates the differences between Ibn Taymiyya and other Muslim philosophers and theologians, as well as his adoption of certain of their ideas.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.36863 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Ajhar, ʻAbd al-Ḥakīm. |
| Contributors | Ormsby, Eric (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Institute of Islamic Studies.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001810832, proquestno: NQ69960, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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