Theological Defense of the Jabr Attitude -An Evaluation in the Context of Jahm b. Safwan-

Galip Türcan; Fatmanur Ceran Köksal

Article Details

Theological Defense of the Jabr Attitude -An Evaluation in the Context of Jahm b. Safwan-

Authors:

Galip Türcan | Fatmanur Ceran Köksal

Publisher:

Süleyman Demirel University

Main Topics:

Din Araştırmaları

Journal:

Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi Issue 50, pp.64-80

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2023

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001294854

pISSN:

2602-2346

Keywords:

Abstract:

 The existing jabr attitudes in Muslim religious culture are associated with the pre-Islamic Arab understanding of fate. Although it is known that there were different approaches to fate among the Arabs of the Jahiliyyah period, the understanding of fate, especially that of jabr, is widely accepted. This is largely related to the sociocultural structure of the society and the Bedouin way of life brought with it the belief in fate. However, the understanding of jabr, which expresses that the divine will determines everything and that human beings are subject to this determined destiny, can also find a religioustheological ground that can be built on the evidence. In fact, while religious texts strengthen the discourse on God, they also define the divine will as absolute in all respects and construct a discourse of jabr at first hand. Thus, while the Quran, which contains the basic principles of religion, in a sense concludes these principles with Gods absolute will, it is also seen that the Prophet, who communicated these principles to the people, frequently expressed expressions related to the divine will. Even though the scriptures that shape Muslim religious thought bring with them the theological claim that the divine will is absolutely determinative, the fact that jabr, as a religious attitude, occupied an important place in the theological debates was essentially realized by strengthening it on a political ground. The policy of jabr, which the Umayyad rulers developed by basing their political legitimacy and political attitudes directly on the will of God, is the most prominent starting point of the will debates in theology. In other words, the perception of absolute divine will, which was emphasized in the Muslim society, was defended by the highest segment of the society at that time and with a political language, which was the most powerful form of discourse. Thus, the Umayyad policy of jabr played an important role in the factual development of not only the jabrī attitudes but also the fatalistic approaches that emerged in the opposite direction and thus the problem of will in theology, and in the following process, these approaches were redefined and dealt with in the theological dimension. Jahm b. Safwān, who lived during the Umayyad period when jabr was widely expressed, seems to advocate a jabrī stance that is largely similar to the Umayyad claim of jabr in terms of its results. However, his participation in the rebellion movement against the Umayyad rulers and his religioustheological proposals for a solution to jabr show that al-Jahm b. Safwān adopted a different view from the political claim of jabr. Jahm b. Safwāns claim of jabr should be considered as a theological inference that developed in the context of his theological preferences. For this reason, a question about what motivated Jahm b. al-Safwāns adoption of the algebraic position will provide information about the religioustheological ground of the concept of jabr, which has an important place in the approaches developed on the will. As a matter of fact, only when it is evaluated within other theological approaches attributed to al-Jahm b. Safwān, it will reveal its nature along with its theological justification.

 The existing jabr attitudes in Muslim religious culture are associated with the pre-Islamic Arab understanding of fate. Although it is known that there were different approaches to fate among the Arabs of the Jahiliyyah period, the understanding of fate, especially that of jabr, is widely accepted. This is largely related to the sociocultural structure of the society and the Bedouin way of life brought with it the belief in fate. However, the understanding of jabr, which expresses that the divine will determines everything and that human beings are subject to this determined destiny, can also find a religioustheological ground that can be built on the evidence. In fact, while religious texts strengthen the discourse on God, they also define the divine will as absolute in all respects and construct a discourse of jabr at first hand. Thus, while the Quran, which contains the basic principles of religion, in a sense concludes these principles with Gods absolute will, it is also seen that the Prophet, who communicated these principles to the people, frequently expressed expressions related to the divine will. Even though the scriptures that shape Muslim religious thought bring with them the theological claim that the divine will is absolutely determinative, the fact that jabr, as a religious attitude, occupied an important place in the theological debates was essentially realized by strengthening it on a political ground. The policy of jabr, which the Umayyad rulers developed by basing their political legitimacy and political attitudes directly on the will of God, is the most prominent starting point of the will debates in theology. In other words, the perception of absolute divine will, which was emphasized in the Muslim society, was defended by the highest segment of the society at that time and with a political language, which was the most powerful form of discourse. Thus, the Umayyad policy of jabr played an important role in the factual development of not only the jabrī attitudes but also the fatalistic approaches that emerged in the opposite direction and thus the problem of will in theology, and in the following process, these approaches were redefined and dealt with in the theological dimension. Jahm b. Safwān, who lived during the Umayyad period when jabr was widely expressed, seems to advocate a jabrī stance that is largely similar to the Umayyad claim of jabr in terms of its results. However, his participation in the rebellion movement against the Umayyad rulers and his religioustheological proposals for a solution to jabr show that al-Jahm b. Safwān adopted a different view from the political claim of jabr. Jahm b. Safwāns claim of jabr should be considered as a theological inference that developed in the context of his theological preferences. For this reason, a question about what motivated Jahm b. al-Safwāns adoption of the algebraic position will provide information about the religioustheological ground of the concept of jabr, which has an important place in the approaches developed on the will. As a matter of fact, only when it is evaluated within other theological approaches attributed to al-Jahm b. Safwān, it will reveal its nature along with its theological justification.

 The existing jabr attitudes in Muslim religious culture are associated with the pre-Islamic Arab understanding of fate. Although it is known that there were different approaches to fate among the Arabs of the Jahiliyyah period, the understanding of fate, especially that of jabr, is widely accepted. This is largely related to the sociocultural structure of the society and the Bedouin way of life brought with it the belief in fate. However, the understanding of jabr, which expresses that the divine will determines everything and that human beings are subject to this determined destiny, can also find a religioustheological ground that can be built on the evidence. In fact, while religious texts strengthen the discourse on God, they also define the divine will as absolute in all respects and construct a discourse of jabr at first hand. Thus, while the Quran, which contains the basic principles of religion, in a sense concludes these principles with Gods absolute will, it is also seen that the Prophet, who communicated these principles to the people, frequently expressed expressions related to the divine will. Even though the scriptures that shape Muslim religious thought bring with them the theological claim that the divine will is absolutely determinative, the fact that jabr, as a religious attitude, occupied an important place in the theological debates was essentially realized by strengthening it on a political ground. The policy of jabr, which the Umayyad rulers developed by basing their political legitimacy and political attitudes directly on the will of God, is the most prominent starting point of the will debates in theology. In other words, the perception of absolute divine will, which was emphasized in the Muslim society, was defended by the highest segment of the society at that time and with a political language, which was the most powerful form of discourse. Thus, the Umayyad policy of jabr played an important role in the factual development of not only the jabrī attitudes but also the fatalistic approaches that emerged in the opposite direction and thus the problem of will in theology, and in the following process, these approaches were redefined and dealt with in the theological dimension. Jahm b. Safwān, who lived during the Umayyad period when jabr was widely expressed, seems to advocate a jabrī stance that is largely similar to the Umayyad claim of jabr in terms of its results. However, his participation in the rebellion movement against the Umayyad rulers and his religioustheological proposals for a solution to jabr show that al-Jahm b. Safwān adopted a different view from the political claim of jabr. Jahm b. Safwāns claim of jabr should be considered as a theological inference that developed in the context of his theological preferences. For this reason, a question about what motivated Jahm b. al-Safwāns adoption of the algebraic position will provide information about the religioustheological ground of the concept of jabr, which has an important place in the approaches developed on the will. As a matter of fact, only when it is evaluated within other theological approaches attributed to al-Jahm b. Safwān, it will reveal its nature along with its theological justification.

 Müslüman din kültüründe mevcut cebrî tutumlar İslam öncesi Arapların kader anlayışı ile ilişkilendirilmektedir. Cahiliye dönemi Arapları arasında kaderle ilgili farklı yaklaşımlar olduğu bilinmekle birlikte özellikle cebr içerikli kader anlayışı yaygın biçimde kabul edilmektedir. Bu, önemli ölçüde toplumun sosyokültürel yapısı ile ilgili olup bedevî yaşam biçimi kader inancını beraberinde getirmiştir. Fakat ilahî iradenin her şeyi belirlediğini ve insanın bu belirlenmiş kadere tabî olduğunu ifade eden cebr anlayışı naslar üzerine inşa edilebilecek düzeyde dinîitikadî açıdan ayrıca zemin bulabilmektedir. Öyle ki dinî metinler Tanrıya ilişkin söylemi güçlendirirken ilahî iradeyi de her açıdan mutlak nitelikte tanımlamış ve cebrî bir söylemi ilk elden inşa etmiştir. Böylece din ile ilgili temel prensipleri barındıran Kuran bu prensipleri Allahın mutlak irade sahibi olmasıyla bir anlamda sonuca bağlarken söz konusu prensipleri insanlara bildiren Peygamberin ilahî irade ile ilgili ifadeleri çokça dile getirdiği de görülmektedir. Müslüman dinî düşünceyi şekillendiren naslar ilahî iradenin mutlak anlamda belirleyici olduğuna dair teolojik iddiayı beraberinde getirse de dinî bir tutum olarak cebrin itikadî tartışmalarda önemli bir yer işgal etmesi esasen siyasî bir zeminde güçlendirilmesi ile gerçekleşmiştir. Emevî yöneticilerin siyasî meşruiyetlerini ve siyasî tutumlarını doğrudan Allahın iradesine dayandırmak suretiyle geliştirdiği cebr politikası kelamdaki irade tartışmalarının en belirgin hareket noktasıdır. Diğer bir ifadeyle Müslüman toplumda vurgulanan mutlak ilahî irade algısı o dönemde toplumun en üst kesimi tarafından ve en güçlü söylem biçimi olan siyasî bir dille savunulmuştur. Böylece Emevî cebr politikası yalnızca cebrî tutumların değil aksi yönde ortaya çıkan kaderî yaklaşımların dolayısıyla kelamdaki irade probleminin olgusal gelişiminde önemli bir rol oynamış ve devam eden süreçte söz konusu yaklaşımlar itikadî boyutta yeniden tanımlanarak ele alınmıştır. Cebrin yaygın biçimde dile getirildiği Emevîler döneminde yaşayan Cehm b. Safvân sonuçları bakımından Emevî cebr iddiası ile büyük ölçüde benzerlik arz eden cebrî bir tutumu savunuyor gözükmektedir. Ancak Emevî yöneticilere karşı isyan hareketinde yer alması başta olmak üzere cebre ilişkin dinîitikadî nitelikli çözüm önerileri sunması Cehm b. Safvânın söz konusu siyasî cebr iddiasından farklı bir görüş benimsediğini göstermektedir. Cehm b. Safvânın cebr iddiası itikadî tercihleri bağlamında gelişen teolojik bir çıkarım olarak değerlendirilmelidir. Bu nedenle Cehm b. Safvânın cebrî tutumu benimsemesindeki motivasyonun ne olduğuna ilişkin bir soru irade konusunda geliştirilen yaklaşımlar içerisinde önemli bir yer tutan cebr kavramının dinîitikadî zemini ile ilgili bilgi verecektir. Nitekim söz konusu cebr ancak Cehm b. Safvâna nispet edilen diğer itikadî yaklaşımlar içerisinde değerlendirildiği takdirde teolojik gerekçesi ile birlikte niteliğini ele verecektir.

Article Details

Theological Defense of the Jabr Attitude -An Evaluation in the Context of Jahm b. Safwan-

Authors:

Galip Türcan | Fatmanur Ceran Köksal

Publisher:

Süleyman Demirel University

Main Topics:

Din Araştırmaları

Journal:

Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi Issue 50, pp.64-80

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2023

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001294854

pISSN:

2602-2346

Will

jabr

Jahm b. al-Safwān

adjectiveİrade

cebr

Cehm b. Safvân

sıfat

tenzih

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Galip Türcan | Fatmanur Ceran Köksal

Publisher: Süleyman Demirel University

Main Topics: Din Araştırmaları

Journal: Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi Issue 50, pp.64-80

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 6/2023

Document Language: Turkish

Document ID (Org No.): 2001294854

pISSN: 2602-2346

Issues

Authors:

Galip Türcan | Fatmanur Ceran Köksal

Publisher:

Süleyman Demirel University

Main Topics:

Din Araştırmaları

Journal:

Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi Issue 50, pp.64-80

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2023

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001294854

pISSN:

2602-2346