458 Dominik Schlosser
the text of the Hidāyat al-ḥayārā as separate sections are elucidations
of the repentance (tawba), by means of which the believer can redeem
his failings and sins or by means of which God will forgive him, of the
attributes of God, and of the Muslim understanding of Jesus, which
implicitly refer to contrary Christian or Jewish viewpoints and which
are thus part of a riposte to them. As a result, numerous sections of
Ibn al-Qayyim’s polemical treatise read like a positive presentation of
Islamic religious doctrines and practices that, at least in the author’s
evident intention, shine in the brightest light when placed against the
background of incriminated Christian teachings and religious prac-
tices. The most eloquent example of this is the passage in which Ibn
al-Qayyim presents the Christians’ prayer behavior antithetically to
and immediately after the Muslim practice.^182
In conclusion, let it be emphasized that, although Ibn al-Qayyim’s
œuvre is extensive,^183 consideration of the Hidāyat al-ḥayārā alone
already permits general statements about his understanding of Chris-
tianity. But for a more detailed analysis of his view of the Christian
religion, it would be necessary to go beyond the Hidāyat al-ḥayārā
and to include in the examination – more than has been done here – at
least the equally relevant writings Aḥkām ahl al-dhimma and Ighāthat
al-lahfān min maṣāʾid al-shayṭān (Rescuing the Distressed from Satan’s
Snares).
182 Ibid., pp. 254–255.
183 For an overview of Ibn al-Qayyim’s literary production, see Bell, Love Theory,
pp. 95–103; Krawietz, Birgit: Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzīyah. His Life and Works,
in: Mamlūk Studies Review 10 (2006), pp. 19–64, here pp. 28–60; Holtzman,
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, pp. 212–221.
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