Islamic Theology, Philosophy and Law

The Poison of Philosophy 291

10. Glimpses into Ibn Taymiyya’s Critique of Logic

in Connection with His Epistemology

10.1. The Particular and the Universal:

Ibn Taymiyya’s Nominalistic Attitude

There is one point Ibn Taymiyya and the philosophers seem to agree
upon, namely that God is the necessary existent, the highest of all exis-
tent beings.^159 Yet, this impression is wrong; Ibn Taymiyya, on the con-
trary, insists upon disclosing that, in fact, the philosophers are incapa-
ble of proving that God is an external existent and thus are completely
missing the essential knowledge through which the soul reaches per-
fection.^160 The cause of this failure, fatal since it results in heresy, is
their instrument of reasoning, i. e., logic. As Ibn Taymiyya claims their
method of deduction – namely, that a sound categorical syllogism has
to consist of two premises, and that at least one of them has to be uni-
versal – is one of the main faults in their proofs of God’s existence:^161

As for the Necessary Existent, blessed and exalted may He be, the syl-

logism does not prove what is characteristic of Him; rather, it proves a

universal matter common to Him as well as to others. According to the

logicians, what is proven by categorical syllogism is nothing but a uni-

versal, common matter having no bearing upon the Necessary Existent,

the Lord of beings, may He be glorified and exalted. Therefore, their

demonstration does not lead them to any knowledge of a matter which

must be constant – whether it belongs to the Necessary Existent or to

possible beings.^162

God’s existence, as Ibn Taymiyya clearly states, has to be particular
(muʿayyan), because otherwise God would not be unique.^163 Moreover,

159 Ibn Taymiyya, al-Radd, p. 125; al-Suyūṭī, Jahd al-qarīḥa, p. 237; Hallaq, Ibn
Taymiyya, p. 54.
160 Ibn Taymiyya, al-Radd, pp.  131–150 et passim; al-Suyūṭī, Jahd al-qarīḥa,
pp. 236–251; Hallaq, Ibn Taymiyya, pp. 52–71.
161 Ibn Taymiyya, al-Radd, p. 107; al-Suyūṭī, Jahd al-qarīḥa, pp. 221–222; Hallaq,
Ibn Taymiyya, p. 34, n. 46.
162 Al-Suyūṭī, Jahd al-qarīḥa, p.  251; Hallaq, Ibn Taymiyya, p.  71 (I follow his
translation); Ibn Taymiyya, al-Radd, p. 150.
163 Ibn Taymiyya, al-Radd, pp. 125, 150; al-Suyūṭī, Jahd al-qarīḥa, pp. 237–238,
251; Hallaq, Ibn Taymiyya, pp.  54, 71; Ibn Taymiyya, Darʾ taʿāruḍ al-ʿaql,
vol.  8, pp.  466–467; see also below, chapter 11.1. For a thorough analysis of
this argument and Ibn Taymiyya’s own proof of God’s existence, see: Hallaq,

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