Taḥbīb theory as neoplatonic emanationism? al-Jīlānī’s thought from riwāyah, dirāyah and riʿāyah perspectives
ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlāni, a 12th CE ḥanbalī mystic, argues repeatedly in his works, Futūḥ al-Ghayb and al-Fatḥ al-Rabbānī which are known for allegorical interpretation of prophetic ḥadīths, that a sufi may enjoy certain worldly pleasures after struggling through various stages of asceticism (zuhd)....
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| Format: | Proceeding Paper |
| Language: | English English English |
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2019
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| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/72152/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/72152/1/Nottingham%20-%20Tahbib.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/72152/2/BRAIS%20Conference%20Book%20-%20Sample%20pages.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/72152/3/BRAIS%20Notes.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848787569509138432 |
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| author | Jamil, Khairil Husaini Kozhithodi, Salahudheen |
| author_facet | Jamil, Khairil Husaini Kozhithodi, Salahudheen |
| author_sort | Jamil, Khairil Husaini |
| building | IIUM Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlāni, a 12th CE ḥanbalī mystic, argues repeatedly in his works, Futūḥ al-Ghayb and al-Fatḥ al-Rabbānī which are known for allegorical interpretation of prophetic ḥadīths, that a sufi may enjoy certain worldly pleasures after struggling through various stages of asceticism (zuhd). Ultimately, God will make him long for some worldly comforts according to His will – an act known as taḥbīb. al-Jīlānī substantiates this tahbīb theory with the famous ḥadīth which reads: “Two things of your world that were made lovely to me; the perfume and the women, and I found the coolness of my eyes in the prayer.” Unlike other exegetes of ḥadīth, al-Jīlānī focuses on the first word of the ḥadīth, ḥubbiba, which indicates that a person is made to love a certain subject. This somehow relates to emanation of love that comes for the Absolute or the Godhead. A similar notion of taḥbīb could be learned in later sufi works, though with different labels, such as al-Suhrawardī’s concept or ‘intihā’, which legitimises the apparently luxurious life style at a higher station of mysticism. The notion has also been observed in the Akbarian scheme of mysticism, attributed to al-Shaykh al-Akbar Ibn al-ʿArabī. Some have argued that elements from this sufistic notions are influenced by the neoplatonic emanationism. This may be concocted through the application of argumentum ex silentio in analysing al-Jīlānī’s deliberation. However, a counter argument could also be traditionally learned from the ḥadīth interpretive tradition. This article attempts to explore these issues within the context of al-Jīlānī’s works and to briefly highlight the possible connections between several areas of knowledge and philosophical endeavours within the relevant literatures. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T17:27:01Z |
| format | Proceeding Paper |
| id | iium-72152 |
| institution | International Islamic University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English English English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T17:27:01Z |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | iium-721522019-05-16T00:41:43Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/72152/ Taḥbīb theory as neoplatonic emanationism? al-Jīlānī’s thought from riwāyah, dirāyah and riʿāyah perspectives Jamil, Khairil Husaini Kozhithodi, Salahudheen B Philosophy (General) BP135 Hadith literature. Traditions. Sunna BP160 General works on Islam BP500 Theosophy KBP100 Sources.Quran, Hadith, Ijma', Qiyas. ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlāni, a 12th CE ḥanbalī mystic, argues repeatedly in his works, Futūḥ al-Ghayb and al-Fatḥ al-Rabbānī which are known for allegorical interpretation of prophetic ḥadīths, that a sufi may enjoy certain worldly pleasures after struggling through various stages of asceticism (zuhd). Ultimately, God will make him long for some worldly comforts according to His will – an act known as taḥbīb. al-Jīlānī substantiates this tahbīb theory with the famous ḥadīth which reads: “Two things of your world that were made lovely to me; the perfume and the women, and I found the coolness of my eyes in the prayer.” Unlike other exegetes of ḥadīth, al-Jīlānī focuses on the first word of the ḥadīth, ḥubbiba, which indicates that a person is made to love a certain subject. This somehow relates to emanation of love that comes for the Absolute or the Godhead. A similar notion of taḥbīb could be learned in later sufi works, though with different labels, such as al-Suhrawardī’s concept or ‘intihā’, which legitimises the apparently luxurious life style at a higher station of mysticism. The notion has also been observed in the Akbarian scheme of mysticism, attributed to al-Shaykh al-Akbar Ibn al-ʿArabī. Some have argued that elements from this sufistic notions are influenced by the neoplatonic emanationism. This may be concocted through the application of argumentum ex silentio in analysing al-Jīlānī’s deliberation. However, a counter argument could also be traditionally learned from the ḥadīth interpretive tradition. This article attempts to explore these issues within the context of al-Jīlānī’s works and to briefly highlight the possible connections between several areas of knowledge and philosophical endeavours within the relevant literatures. 2019-11-30 Proceeding Paper NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/72152/1/Nottingham%20-%20Tahbib.pdf application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/72152/2/BRAIS%20Conference%20Book%20-%20Sample%20pages.pdf application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/72152/3/BRAIS%20Notes.pdf Jamil, Khairil Husaini and Kozhithodi, Salahudheen (2019) Taḥbīb theory as neoplatonic emanationism? al-Jīlānī’s thought from riwāyah, dirāyah and riʿāyah perspectives. In: 2019 Annual Conference of the British Association for Islamic Studies (BRAIS 2019), 15th-16th April 2019, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom. (Unpublished) http://www.brais.ac.uk/conferences/brais-2019 |
| spellingShingle | B Philosophy (General) BP135 Hadith literature. Traditions. Sunna BP160 General works on Islam BP500 Theosophy KBP100 Sources.Quran, Hadith, Ijma', Qiyas. Jamil, Khairil Husaini Kozhithodi, Salahudheen Taḥbīb theory as neoplatonic emanationism? al-Jīlānī’s thought from riwāyah, dirāyah and riʿāyah perspectives |
| title | Taḥbīb theory as neoplatonic emanationism? al-Jīlānī’s thought from riwāyah, dirāyah and riʿāyah perspectives |
| title_full | Taḥbīb theory as neoplatonic emanationism? al-Jīlānī’s thought from riwāyah, dirāyah and riʿāyah perspectives |
| title_fullStr | Taḥbīb theory as neoplatonic emanationism? al-Jīlānī’s thought from riwāyah, dirāyah and riʿāyah perspectives |
| title_full_unstemmed | Taḥbīb theory as neoplatonic emanationism? al-Jīlānī’s thought from riwāyah, dirāyah and riʿāyah perspectives |
| title_short | Taḥbīb theory as neoplatonic emanationism? al-Jīlānī’s thought from riwāyah, dirāyah and riʿāyah perspectives |
| title_sort | taḥbīb theory as neoplatonic emanationism? al-jīlānī’s thought from riwāyah, dirāyah and riʿāyah perspectives |
| topic | B Philosophy (General) BP135 Hadith literature. Traditions. Sunna BP160 General works on Islam BP500 Theosophy KBP100 Sources.Quran, Hadith, Ijma', Qiyas. |
| url | http://irep.iium.edu.my/72152/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/72152/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/72152/1/Nottingham%20-%20Tahbib.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/72152/2/BRAIS%20Conference%20Book%20-%20Sample%20pages.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/72152/3/BRAIS%20Notes.pdf |