Against Islamic Universalism 391
and wise purpose to a doctrine of universal salvation at the end of his
life. His final testimony in Fanāʾ al-nār is that God’s mercy and wise
purpose will bring an end to chastisement in the Fire for all.
4. Trying to Demonstrate that Ibn al-Qayyim
Upholds the Eternity of the Fire
Al-Ḥarbī’s work on Ibn al-Qayyim is more fruitful. His argumenta-
tion is not persuasive in itself, but, combined with additional evidence
and analysis, it does require us to be more cautious about Ibn al-Qay-
yim’s mature views on the matter. Al-Ḥarbī presents four passages as
proof that Ibn al-Qayyim eventually came to uphold everlasting chas-
tisement of unbelievers and associators in the Fire. These are found in
Ibn al-Qayyim’s Zād al-maʿād (Provision for the Hereafter), Ijtimāʿ
al-juyūsh (Gathering of the Armies), Ṭarīq al-hijratayn (The Road of
the Two Migrations) and al-Wābil al-ṣayyib (The Heavy Shower). I
will examine each of these works in turn.
Al-Ḥarbī quotes the following passage from Zād al-maʿād and takes
it to be an indicator, but not a clear declaration, of Ibn al-Qayyim’s
belief in the eternity of the Fire:
When an associator (mushrik) is foul in constitution and foul in essence,
the Fire does not cleanse his foulness. On the contrary, if he were to come
out of it, he would return as foul as he was [before], like a dog when it
enters the sea and then comes out of it. Therefore, God – Most High is
He – forbade the Garden to the associator.^51When set in its context in Zād al-maʿād, this passage provides stron-
ger evidence for al-Ḥarbī’s case than he realizes. Zād al-maʿād is an
extensive compilation of Hadith on the Prophet’s practice and instruc-
tion on everything from the ritual prayer to medicine.^52 Al-Ḥarbī’s evi-
dence comes from the introductory section of the book where Ibn al-
Qayyim ties happiness in this world and the hereafter to following the
Prophet. In the course of his discussion, Ibn al-Qayyim observes that
51 Al-Ḥarbī, Kashf al-astār, pp. 49–50, 79; Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya: Zād al-maʿād
fī hady khayr al-ʿibād, ed. by Shuʿayb al-Arnaʾūṭ and ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Arnaʾūṭ,
Beirut 1414/1994, vol. 1, p. 68.
52 See Krawietz, Birgit: Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzīyah. His Life and Works, in: Mamlūk
Studies Review 10 (2006), pp. 19–64, for fuller overviews of Zād al-maʿād
(pp. 57–59) and Ibn al-Qayyim’s other books discussed in this study.
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