ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn al-Samarqandī’s Non-Realist Approach to Good Ḥasan and Bad Qabīḥ: Moral Ontology in Sixth/Twelfth-Century Māturīdī Theology and Legal Theory

Hisashi Obuchi

Article Details

ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn al-Samarqandī’s Non-Realist Approach to Good Ḥasan and Bad Qabīḥ: Moral Ontology in Sixth/Twelfth-Century Māturīdī Theology and Legal Theory

Authors:

Hisashi Obuchi

Publisher:

Brill

Journal:

Journal of Islamic Ethics Vol.8 Issue 2, pp.71-98

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

3/2024

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001948768

pISSN:

2468-5534

Keywords:

Abstract:

 The Māturīdīs think that, without revealed law, human beings can grasp through speculative reasoning that some actions are good (ḥasan) and some are bad (qabīḥ). This article addresses the ontological aspect of such ethical rationalism. An analysis of the texts of legal theory shows that the sixth/twelfth-century Māturīdīs approached moral values in a non-realist way. Specifically, ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn al-Samarqandī (d. 539/1144?), who identifies himself as a true successor of Abū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī (d. 333/944), demonstrates that goodness (ḥusn) and badness (qubḥ) are neither real accidents nor divine command and prohibition; rather, “good” and “bad” just express one’s natural or rational approval and disapproval of objects and actions, and Prophetic law shapes some of the natural likes and dislikes. On this account, I conclude that al-Samarqandī’s view, shared by his contemporaneous fellow Māturīdīs such as Abū l-Thanāʾ al-Lāmishī (d. after 539/1144) and Najm al-Dīn al-Nasafī (d. 537/1142), challenges the current standard interpretations of the Māturīdī ethics as realism or divine command theory. The Māturīdīs think that, without revealed law, human beings can grasp through speculative reasoning that some actions are good (ḥasan) and some are bad (qabīḥ). This article addresses the ontological aspect of such ethical rationalism. An analysis of the texts of legal theory shows that the sixth/twelfth-century Māturīdīs approached moral values in a non-realist way. Specifically, ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn al-Samarqandī (d. 539/1144?), who identifies himself as a true successor of Abū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī (d. 333/944), demonstrates that goodness (ḥusn) and badness (qubḥ) are neither real accidents nor divine command and prohibition; rather, “good” and “bad” just express one’s natural or rational approval and disapproval of objects and actions, and Prophetic law shapes some of the natural likes and dislikes. On this account, I conclude that al-Samarqandī’s view, shared by his contemporaneous fellow Māturīdīs such as Abū l-Thanāʾ al-Lāmishī (d. after 539/1144) and Najm al-Dīn al-Nasafī (d. 537/1142), challenges the current standard interpretations of the Māturīdī ethics as realism or divine command theory. The Māturīdīs think that, without revealed law, human beings can grasp through speculative reasoning that some actions are good (ḥasan) and some are bad (qabīḥ). This article addresses the ontological aspect of such ethical rationalism. An analysis of the texts of legal theory shows that the sixth/twelfth-century Māturīdīs approached moral values in a non-realist way. Specifically, ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn al-Samarqandī (d. 539/1144?), who identifies himself as a true successor of Abū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī (d. 333/944), demonstrates that goodness (ḥusn) and badness (qubḥ) are neither real accidents nor divine command and prohibition; rather, “good” and “bad” just express one’s natural or rational approval and disapproval of objects and actions, and Prophetic law shapes some of the natural likes and dislikes. On this account, I conclude that al-Samarqandī’s view, shared by his contemporaneous fellow Māturīdīs such as Abū l-Thanāʾ al-Lāmishī (d. after 539/1144) and Najm al-Dīn al-Nasafī (d. 537/1142), challenges the current standard interpretations of the Māturīdī ethics as realism or divine command theory.

Article Details

ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn al-Samarqandī’s Non-Realist Approach to Good Ḥasan and Bad Qabīḥ: Moral Ontology in Sixth/Twelfth-Century Māturīdī Theology and Legal Theory

Authors:

Hisashi Obuchi

Publisher:

Brill

Journal:

Journal of Islamic Ethics Vol.8 Issue 2, pp.71-98

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

3/2024

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001948768

pISSN:

2468-5534

Philosophy

Theology & Science

Middle East and Islamic Studies

Religion

Ethics & Moral Philosophy

Bioethics / Ethics of Medicine

General

Religious Studies

Journal

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Hisashi Obuchi

Publisher: Brill

Journal: Journal of Islamic Ethics Vol.8 Issue 2, pp.71-98

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 3/2024

Document Language: English

Document ID (Org No.): 2001948768

pISSN: 2468-5534

Issues

Authors:

Hisashi Obuchi

Publisher:

Brill

Journal:

Journal of Islamic Ethics Vol.8 Issue 2, pp.71-98

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

3/2024

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001948768

pISSN:

2468-5534