Bughyat al-Murtad fi al-Radd ala al-Mutafalsifa wa al-Qaramita wa al-Batiniyya
- Author died
- 728 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-ʿUlūm wa-al-Ḥikam
Bughyat al-Murtad fi al-Radd ala al-Mutafalsifa wa al-Qaramita wa al-Batiniyya (The Seeker's Desire in Refuting the Philosophizers, Qarmatians, and Batinites) is a theological and polemical treatise by the Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyya (661–728 AH / 1263–1328 CE) dedicated to refuting philosophical esotericism, monism, and allegorical interpretations of Islamic scripture .
Background and Alternative Titles
The work is widely known by the alternative title al-Sab'iniyya because of its extended refutation of the Andalusian Sufi philosopher Ibn Sab'in (d. 669 AH) and his monistic doctrine of absolute unity . It is also titled al-Radd ala Ibn Sab'in wa Ahl al-Wahda (The Refutation of Ibn Sab'in and the Proponents of Unity) . Ibn Taymiyya composed the treatise while staying in Alexandria, where he spent eight months after his release from imprisonment in Cairo .
Prompt and Scope
The composition of the treatise was prompted by a formal inquiry asking Ibn Taymiyya about the authenticity and interpretation of three widespread narrations often cited by philosophers and esotericists :
- « أول ما خلق الله العقل فقال له أقبل فأقبل ثم قال له أدبر فأدبر... » ("The first thing God created was the Intellect, and He said to it: 'Come forward,' so it came forward; then He said to it: 'Turn back,' so it turned back...")
- « كنت كنزاً لا أعرف فأحببت أن أعرف فخلقت الخلق ليعرفوني فبي عرفوني » ("I was a hidden treasure unknown, so I loved to be known, and I created creation so that they would know Me, and through Me they knew Me.")
- « كان الله ولا شيء معه وهو الآن على ما عليه كان » ("God was, and nothing was with Him, and He is now as He was.")
The question sought to determine whether these reports were authentic or defective, what genuine portions existed, whether additions had been interpolated by reliable transmitters, and their theological meanings . Using this inquiry as a springboard, Ibn Taymiyya set out to dismantle the theological and metaphysical doctrines built upon such narrations by proponents of the unity of existence (wahdat al-wujud), philosophical schools, and Batinite esotericists .
Content and Method
In the treatise, Ibn Taymiyya critiques philosophical and esoteric doctrines across several fronts:
- Refutation of the Theory of Intellects: He critiques the philosophers' definition of the intellect as an independently subsisting substance and refutes the cosmological theory of the Ten Intellects (al-uqul al-ashra), arguing that it is invalid both rationally and scripturally .
- Critique of Monism and Unity of Existence: He challenges figures associated with philosophical Sufism who asserted wahdat al-wujud, such as Ibn Sab'in, Ibn Arabi, and al-Afif al-Tilimsani, analyzing their ontological framing of absolute existence .
- Examination of Mishkat al-Anwar: Ibn Taymiyya engages extensively with Abu Hamid al-Ghazali's mystical-philosophical work Mishkat al-Anwar (The Niche of Lights), criticizing its esoteric and philosophical explanations of Quranic verses and prophetic traditions, as well as al-Ghazali's reliance on unverified narrations .
Publication
The book has been edited in modern times by Musa al-Duwaysh and published in Medina .
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