The Poison of Philosophy 267
in custody in Alexandria, but apparently completed it only after his
major refutation of the rationalists Darʾ taʿāruḍ al-ʿaql wal-naql (see
chapter 7).^56 While imprisoned in Alexandria, he was visited by some
scholars whose plea for logic and philosophy triggered his vehement
impugnment.^57 He tries to demonstrate that – contrary to what many
Muslim scholars of his time believed – logic is not a universal and infal-
lible guide to truth shared by all mankind, but simply a matter of con-
vention between some people, and in addition, a completely useless
instrument of the intellect, especially in metaphysical matters.
Ibn Taymiyya criticizes some essential principles of definition and
deduction from various points of view, although not very systematical-
ly and with many repetitions and digressions.^58 Some of what might be
understood as a digression in fact constitutes an explication of his own
epistemology. His style is sometimes polemical, but mostly technical,
trying to refute his enemies by arguments. Most of his counter-argu-
ments had already been stated by Greek or Muslim thinkers,^59 but as
Wael B. Hallaq states, Ibn Taymiyya’s critique “represents not so much
56 At the beginning of al-Radd, he states that he wrote down what he had to com-
ment upon logic at that time after a visit of one of his philosophising visitors and
that he followed it through in several sessions afterwards (Ibn Taymiyya, al-
Radd, p. 3; al-Suyūṭī, Jahd al-qarīḥa, p. 202; Hallaq, Ibn Taymiyya, p. 4). This
statement implies that he started the work in 1309/10. Ibn Taymiyya mentions
Darʾ taʿāruḍ al-ʿaql wal-naql at least three times in al-Radd ʿalā al-manṭiqiyyīn
(Ibn Taymiyya, al-Radd, pp. 253 (this hint is missing in al-Suyūṭī’s abridge-
ment), 323 (al-Suyūṭī, Jahd al-qarīḥa, p. 322; Hallaq, Ibn Taymiyya, p. 150)
and 373 (this hint is missing in al-Suyūṭī’s abridgement)). So he seems to
have finished it only four to eight years after his custody, since Darʾ taʿāruḍ
al-ʿaql wal-naql is thought to have been written between 713/1313–1314 and
717/1317–1318 (see below, n. 103). If the dates are rightly assumed, this would
either imply that Ibn Taymiyya worked on the two refutations simultaneously
or that he inserted the two hints to Darʾ taʿāruḍ al-ʿaql wal-naql as additional
glosses. Against the latter assumption speaks the short treatment of the estima-
tive propositions (wahmiyyāt) in al-Radd ʿalā al-manṭiqiyyīn with the reference
to “another work,” where he expounded upon the subject. Darʾ taʿāruḍ al-ʿaql
wal-naql contains long passages discussing the wahmiyyāt and thus is most
probably the work Ibn Taymiyya refers to (see below, chapter 11.1).
57 Ibn Taymiyya, al-Radd, pp. 3–4; al-Suyūṭī, Jahd al-qarīḥa, p. 202; Hallaq,
Ibn Taymiyya, p. 4; Laoust, La Biographie d’Ibn Taymīya, pp. 144–146; idem,
L’influence d’Ibn-Taymiyya, in: Alford T. Welch and Pierre Cachia (eds.): Islam.
Past Influence and Present Challenge, New York 1979, pp. 15–33, here p. 16.
58 For a concise summary of his critique, see Hallaq, Ibn Taymiyya, pp. xiv–xxxiv.
59 Al-Nashshār, Manāhij al-baḥth, pp. 149–159; Hallaq, Ibn Taymiyya, pp. xxxix–
xlviii.
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