Is Ibn Taymiyya the Contemporary with Whom Abū Ḥayyān Argued About the Nature of ʿIlm al-Tafsīr?

Abdullah Karaca

Article Details

Is Ibn Taymiyya the Contemporary with Whom Abū Ḥayyān Argued About the Nature of ʿIlm al-Tafsīr?

Authors:

Abdullah Karaca

Publisher:

Ankara University

Main Topics:

Tefsir

Journal:

Ankara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.65 Issue 2, pp.759-790

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

11/2024

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001332455

pISSN:

1301-0522

Keywords:

Abstract:

 The question of whether Quranic exegesis should be confined solely to the transmitted reports from early scholars or whether the exegete is permitted to offer their own interpretations has been a subject of debate since the beginning of Tafsīr. Abū Ḥayyān 654-7451256-1344 also also stated in his muqaddimah to al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ that he discussed this issue with an unnamed contemporary. Today, some scholars claim that Ibn Taymiyya 661-7281263-1328 was the contemporary whom Abū Ḥayyān criticized in the introduction to al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ based on the narrations in the books of ṭabaqāt. There is an interesting story of Abū Ḥayyān and Ibn Taymiyya, who lived in the same period and in the same city for a while. There have even been special studies on their relationship. The aim of this article is to evaluate this claim. The article first analyzes the relationship between the two scholars. Subsequently, the claims that Ibn Taymiyya was the contemporary of Abū Ḥayyān are reviewed. These claims are then criticized in the context of Ibn Taymiyyas understanding of tafsīr. Considering the information in the sources of ṭabaqāt and Ibn Taymiyyas method of tafsīr, it is highly probable that Ibn Taymiyya was the contemporary in the introduction of al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ. However, although the exegetical theory criticized in al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭs muqaddīmah overlaps with Ibn Taymiyyas point of view to a great extent, there are some differences in some aspects. For this reason, it is possible that the contemporary in question was someone else who only advocated the dependence on transmission in tafsīr.

 The question of whether Quranic exegesis should be confined solely to the transmitted reports from early scholars or whether the exegete is permitted to offer their own interpretations has been a subject of debate since the beginning of Tafsīr. Abū Ḥayyān 654-7451256-1344 also also stated in his muqaddimah to al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ that he discussed this issue with an unnamed contemporary. Today, some scholars claim that Ibn Taymiyya 661-7281263-1328 was the contemporary whom Abū Ḥayyān criticized in the introduction to al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ based on the narrations in the books of ṭabaqāt. There is an interesting story of Abū Ḥayyān and Ibn Taymiyya, who lived in the same period and in the same city for a while. There have even been special studies on their relationship. The aim of this article is to evaluate this claim. The article first analyzes the relationship between the two scholars. Subsequently, the claims that Ibn Taymiyya was the contemporary of Abū Ḥayyān are reviewed. These claims are then criticized in the context of Ibn Taymiyyas understanding of tafsīr. Considering the information in the sources of ṭabaqāt and Ibn Taymiyyas method of tafsīr, it is highly probable that Ibn Taymiyya was the contemporary in the introduction of al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ. However, although the exegetical theory criticized in al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭs muqaddīmah overlaps with Ibn Taymiyyas point of view to a great extent, there are some differences in some aspects. For this reason, it is possible that the contemporary in question was someone else who only advocated the dependence on transmission in tafsīr.

 The question of whether Quranic exegesis should be confined solely to the transmitted reports from early scholars or whether the exegete is permitted to offer their own interpretations has been a subject of debate since the beginning of Tafsīr. Abū Ḥayyān 654-7451256-1344 also also stated in his muqaddimah to al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ that he discussed this issue with an unnamed contemporary. Today, some scholars claim that Ibn Taymiyya 661-7281263-1328 was the contemporary whom Abū Ḥayyān criticized in the introduction to al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ based on the narrations in the books of ṭabaqāt. There is an interesting story of Abū Ḥayyān and Ibn Taymiyya, who lived in the same period and in the same city for a while. There have even been special studies on their relationship. The aim of this article is to evaluate this claim. The article first analyzes the relationship between the two scholars. Subsequently, the claims that Ibn Taymiyya was the contemporary of Abū Ḥayyān are reviewed. These claims are then criticized in the context of Ibn Taymiyyas understanding of tafsīr. Considering the information in the sources of ṭabaqāt and Ibn Taymiyyas method of tafsīr, it is highly probable that Ibn Taymiyya was the contemporary in the introduction of al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ. However, although the exegetical theory criticized in al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭs muqaddīmah overlaps with Ibn Taymiyyas point of view to a great extent, there are some differences in some aspects. For this reason, it is possible that the contemporary in question was someone else who only advocated the dependence on transmission in tafsīr.

 Tefsirde sadece erken dönem âlimlerinden gelen rivayetlere bağlı kalınıp kalınmayacağı ve müfessirin kendi çıkarımlarını ileri sürüp süremeyeceği konusu tefsir tarihinin başlangıcından beri tartışılmaktadır. Ebū Ḥayyān 654-7451256-1344 da el-Baḥrul-Muḥīṭin mukaddimesinde ismini vermediği bir çağdaşıyla bu konuyu tartıştığını beyan etmiştir. Günümüzde bazı araştırmacılar ṭabaḳāt kitaplarındaki verilerden hareketle Ebū Ḥayyānın el-Baḥrul-Muḥīṭin mukaddimesinde eleştirdiği muasırın İbn Teymiyye 661-7281263-1328 olduğunu iddia etmektedir. Aynı dönemde yaşayan ve bir süre aynı şehirde bulunan Ebū Ḥayyān ile İbn Teymiyyenin ilginç bir hikayesi vardır. Aralarındaki ilişki hakkında özel araştırmalar dahi yapılmıştır. Bu makalenin amacı söz konusu iddiayı değerlendirmektir. Makalede öncelikle iki âlimin birbirleriyle olan ilişkisi analiz edilmiştir. Akabinde Ebū Ḥayyānın tartıştığı muasırının İbn Teymiyye olduğu yönündeki iddialar gözden geçirilmiştir. Daha sonra söz konusu iddialar İbn Teymiyyenin tefsir anlayışı bağlamında kritik edilmiştir. Ṭabaḳāt kaynaklarındaki bilgiler ve İbn Teymiyyenin tefsir yöntemi göz önünde bulundurulduğu takdirde el-Baḥrul-Muḥīṭin mukaddimesindeki muasırın İbn Teymiyye olması kuvvetle muhtemeldir. Fakat el-Baḥrul-Muḥīṭin mukaddimesinde eleştirilen tefsir kuramı büyük ölçüde İbn Teymiyyenin bakış açısıyla örtüşse de bazı açılardan farklılıklar barındırmaktadır. Bu sebeple bahsi geçen muasır kişinin, tefsirde salt nakle bağlılığı savunan başka biri olması da ihtimal dâhilindedir.

Article Details

Is Ibn Taymiyya the Contemporary with Whom Abū Ḥayyān Argued About the Nature of ʿIlm al-Tafsīr?

Authors:

Abdullah Karaca

Publisher:

Ankara University

Main Topics:

Tefsir

Journal:

Ankara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.65 Issue 2, pp.759-790

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

11/2024

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001332455

pISSN:

1301-0522

Tafsīr

Abū Ḥayyān

Ibn Taymiyya

Muʿāṣir

Salaf

NarrationTefsir

Ebū Ḥayyān

İbn Teymiyye

Muasır

Selef

Rivayet

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Abdullah Karaca

Publisher: Ankara University

Main Topics: Tefsir

Journal: Ankara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.65 Issue 2, pp.759-790

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 11/2024

Document Language: Turkish

Document ID (Org No.): 2001332455

pISSN: 1301-0522

Issues

Authors:

Abdullah Karaca

Publisher:

Ankara University

Main Topics:

Tefsir

Journal:

Ankara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.65 Issue 2, pp.759-790

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

11/2024

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001332455

pISSN:

1301-0522