إشكالية استمرار الدرس الفلسفي الرشدي: حول أثر الغزالي في المدرسة الرشدية بالمغرب / The Decline of the Averroist Lesson: On the Impact of al-Ghazālī on Maghrebi Averroism

Program

ALIF

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http://www.jstor.org/stable/521844

All Authors

الصغيّر, عبد المجيد; Sghiar, Abdelmajid

Document Type

Research Article

Publication Title

Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics

Publication Date

1996

doi

https://www.doi.org/10.2307/521844

Abstract

[This study questions the standard explanation of the failure of Ibn Rushd's lesson to thrive in the Islamic Maghreb by attributing it to his ordeal which included his banishment and the burning of his books. Such a personal and facile explanation of an undeveloped philosophical orientation is challenged, and replaced by a scrutinizing look at the intellectual and social context which did not provide the necessary fertile ground for Averroism in the Medieval Maghreb. The Muwaḥḥid (Almohed) dynasty of Morocco-in whose court Ibn Rushd worked for a time as a court physician before he was banished-was militantly reformist and wanted single-mindedly to have intellectual reforms as part of a political agenda. Its program was based on unity and uniformity, returning to the roots and minimizing religious and political divergence. The Caliphs of the Muwaḥḥid dynasty used force and burnt books written by mainstream Mālikī jurists who were involved in'ilm al-furū' ("doctrine of the branches"-an applied jurisprudence which consists of an intricate elaboration of Islamic Law) since their work distracted from the fundamentals of faith, so dear to the Muwaḥḥids. Thus, the author argues, the ordeal of Ibn Rushd was by no means an extraordinary trial at that time. A close reading of Ibn Rushd's writings shows his acceptance of the Muwaḥḥids' ideals and ideology, which meant-in practical terms-an intellectual insistence on the consistency of foundations and an abhorrence of pluralism, diversity of interpretations and indulgence in branching. Bearing this in mind, the author explains Ibn Rushd's dedication to presenting the philosophy of Aristotle-the first master-purged from "distortions." His attack on dialectical theologians also stems from what Ibn Rushd considered their misinterpretations of Sharī'a (Islamic Law), the "sister" of Ḥikma (Philosophy). The work of Abū al-Hajāj Yūsuf ibn Ṭumlūs, a student of Ibn Rushd, shows to what extent al-Ghazālī had penetrated Maghrebi Averroism, and displaced Ibn Rushd's philosophical thrust. This perhaps explains more adequately than the dramatic incident of setting fire to Ibn Rushd's books the reason behind the decline of the Averroist lesson.]

First Page

77

Last Page

88

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