THEOLOGICAL CONTEXT 47
This question may be divided into two parts. We must fi rst ask whether
Maimonides may have read the numerous writings of Ibn al- Rawandi.
While such a possibility cannot be ruled out entirely, it seems to me rather
unlikely. The Muslims mercilessly persecuted Ibn al- Rawandi while he
was alive, and did not give him rest even after his death. His books were in
effect banned, and there is reason to suspect that already during the elev-
enth century even Muslims found it diffi cult to fi nd any manuscripts of
his books.^82
This being so, is it conceivable that Maimonides did not know at all
about Ibn al- Rawandi? This, too, is highly unlikely. True, Maimonides
does not mention Ibn al- Rawandi by name, nor does his name appear in
the extant writings of the Muslim phi losophers whom he was accustomed
to read, such as Farabi, Ibn Bajja, and Ibn Rushd.^83 In the works of Mus-
lim theologians, however, the image of Ibn al- Rawandi, the debate with
him, and quotations from his works are very common, whether in their
polemical writings or in kalam writings. Ibn al- Rawandi’s words are oc-
casionally quoted when he expresses his opinion concerning some inof-
fensive issue, but he is primarily mentioned as one who argues against
prophecy. Although the Muslim theological and heresiographical litera-
ture contains a plethora of heretics, Ibn al- Rawandi occupies a central
place in this literature as the arch- heretic, one who is a heretic out of
spite—a role parallel to that occupied by Elisha ben Abuyah among Jewish
heretics. As mentioned above, Maimonides met with Muslim theologians
on various occasions, and even participated with them in discussions of
kalam.^84 If we accept the assumption of Pines, mentioned at the begin-
ning of this chapter, that Maimonides was familiar with the writings of
Muslim theologians, and not only with those of Muslim phi losophers,
we must assume that Maimonides encountered the image of Ibn al-
Rawandi in one way or another. And if Maimonides encountered any
mention at all of Ibn al- Rawandi, be it only one sentence, we may reason-
ably assume that this sentence described him as a zindiq, a Dahrite, and
as one who denied the prophets. If this is the case, it seems quite possible
that this image infl uenced Maimonides when he shaped the image of the
Jewishzindiq, Elisha ben Abuyah.
Maimonides offers a very free adaptation of Ibn al- Rawandi to his
own purposes. He breaks down the image into its components, drawing
from it those elements that constitute the ste reotype of the zindiq, the
(^82) See Stroumsa, Freethinkers of Medieval Islam, 207– 8.
(^83) On the repercussion of Ibn al- Rawandi and of his freethinking on Islamic philosophy, see
ibid., 188– 92.
(^84) See note 46, above; P. Fenton, “A Meeting with Maimonides,” BSOAS 45 (1982): 1n1.