Bayan Talbis al-Jahmiyya fi Tasis Bida'ihim al-Kalamiyya
- Author died
- 728 AH
- Editions
- King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Quran
Bayan Talbis al-Jahmiyya fi Tasis Bida'ihim al-Kalamiyya (Exposition of the Deception of the Jahmiyya in Establishing Their Theological Innovations) is an extensive theological refutation authored by the Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyya (661–728 AH / 1263–1328 CE) . Written to critique Ash'arite speculative theology (kalam), the work systematically dismantles the arguments presented by Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (543–606 AH / 1149–1210 CE) in his treatise Ta'sis al-Taqdis .
Background and Purpose
The book was composed as a comprehensive point-by-point rebuttal to Ta'sis al-Taqdis (also known as Asas al-Taqdis), a work that al-Razi had authored for the Ayyubid ruler al-Adil Abu Bakr ibn Ayyub . Ibn Taymiyya noted that al-Razi had gathered in that treatise the rational and textual arguments used to reject divine highness above the Throne (al-'uluww) and the textual divine attributes (al-sifat al-khabariyya), relying heavily on figurative interpretations (ta'wil) and philosophical objections .
According to the bio-bibliographer Ibn al-Mubarrid, Ibn Taymiyya composed the work during his seven-year stay and imprisonment in Egypt . Ibn Taymiyya intended the refutation to demonstrate what he characterized as the flawed foundational premises of Jahmi and speculative theological doctrines, while defending the affirmation of God's attributes as reported in the Quran and the Sunnah without denial (ta'til) or anthropomorphic resemblance (tamthil) .
Structure and Core Themes
The text follows al-Razi's original discourse closely, quoting sections from Ta'sis al-Taqdis and providing detailed analyses of their philosophical and theological assertions . Major subjects addressed across the work include:
- Divine Attributes and Highness: Detailed argumentation affirming God's transcendence, highness above creation (al-'uluww), and ascension over the Throne (al-istiwa'), alongside affirmations of textual attributes such as the Face (al-wajh) and the Hand (al-yad) .
- Critique of Scholastic Concepts: Deconstruction of terminologies frequently employed in kalam debates to deny divine attributes, such as spatial direction (al-jiha), bodily form or corporeality (al-jism), spatial confinement (al-hayyiz), and limit or boundary (al-hadd) .
- Hermeneutics and Figurative Interpretation: Refutation of the methods of figurative interpretation (ta'wil) applied to scriptural passages describing divine attributes, contrasting them with the understandings transmitted from the early generations of Muslims (al-salaf) .
Editions and Transmission
Ibn al-Mubarrid listed the work under the title Talbis al-Jahmiyya fi Tasis Bida'ihim al-Kalamiyya, describing it as spanning six large manuscript volumes . A critical edition of the complete work was published in 1426 AH (2005 CE) by the King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Quran in Medina, spanning ten volumes edited by a team of scholars including Yahya ibn Muhammad al-Hunaydi and Rashid Hasan Muhammad Ali .
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