358 Georges Tamer
divine actions, is the same role Muslim philosophers ascribed to the
heavenly spheres.^138
Ibn Taymiyya’s philosophical explanation of creation – that is, as
an eternal action involving the particularization of universal divine
attributes which are located and united with God’s essence – goes,
as Ajhar states, beyond all former theological attempts to explain
the relationship between God and the world. Clearly, though, this
explanation had no adverse effects on the divine transcendence.
Ibn Taymiy ya accomplishes this through distinguishing between
two kinds of coming into being (ḥudūth): one is related to the gen-
era (al-ajnās, jins al-ḥawādith), i. e. the divine attributes, and one is
related to the particular accidents (al-aʿrāḍ al-khāṣṣa al-muḥaddada)
which come into being and perish in time.^139 His philosophical con-
ception integrates various elements taken from the works of former
philosophers and kalām-theologians, such as Abū al-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī
(d. 436/1044) and Abū al-Barakāt al-Baghdādī; it is, however, espe-
cially indebted to Ibn Rushd. As such, it earned vehement critique
from his contemporary theologians.^140
According to Ajhar’s interpretation, Ibn Taymiyya’s world is in
perpetual renewal due to a continuous state of agency (fāʿiliyya). This
agency “is the divine creation and the motion through which the
existents move from one state into another. Each state is a necessary
condition for the following state which results from it.”^141 This per-
spective is a result of Ibn Taymiyya’s “philosophical courage”, which
also manifests in his bold connection of his own philosophical views
to major authorities of Hadith, such as al-Bukhārī, and traditional
kalām, such as Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal. In referring to them, he aims not
only to support his position, but also to impute his own philosophi-
cal views on creation and divine actions to the traditionalists.^142 Ibn
Taymiyya’s philosophical ideas seem to be “a creative synthesis of
the views of former philosophers”, through which he succeeded in
negotiating topics crucial to the Muslims of his time. In particular,
138 Ibid., p. 167.
139 Ibid., pp. 171–173.
140 Ibid., pp. 174–175. For an overview of the conflicts around Ibn Taymiyya,
see Bori, Caterina: Ibn Taymiyya wa-Jamāʿatuhu. Authority, Conflict and
Consensus in Ibn Taymiyya’s Circle, in: Yossef Rapoport and Shahab Ahmad
(eds.): Ibn Taymiyya and His Times, pp. 23–52.
141 Ajhar, Ibn Taymiyya, p. 190.
142 Ibid., p. 191.
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