ABSTRACT
Abu al-Bassir, see also 456, al-Mas’udl..., Les prairies d for..., v.7, pp.346-7
text, 71 the French translation and bibliography, and 84 the introduction)(The three sects: Jacobites, Melchites, Nestorians.)
A brilliant exposition of medieval Muslim-Christian dia log. (The copy which I saw, from Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., was in mimeographed/typewritten 8^x11 form, with many typing errors and layout mistakes.)
The text was preserved only within the Christian refuta tion of Yahya ibn Hamid ibn Zakariya, known under the name Yaljya ibn ’ftdl (whom see), but it appears to be accurate, says Abel, The translator offers a long introduction, outlining the various texts and their histories (pp.i-v), a description of the contents (pp. vi-xi), the biography of Abu ’TsI and his known works (pp.xii-xxii with an analysis of them and their responses in some detail). The translator then analyzes the works themselves, beginning with Abu ’Tsa’s Treatise on the Trinity (pp.xxii ff,). Abel offers a synop sis of his presentations on: definitions, the Christian Creed (pp. xxiii); the (Hypostatic) Union of the Word (pp.xxiii-xxiv), the nature of the Messiah (p.xxiv), the polemic on the Trinity Cpp.xxivxxv), the rapport between the hypostases and the Divine Substance (pp,xxv-xxvi), the necessity to identify the hypostases with the Substance (p.xxvi), metaphorical representations on the rapport of the Substance with the hypostases (pp,xxvi-xxvii), strict unitarianism (p.xxvii), the dogma and logic incompatible Cp.xxvii), the Trinity is a plurality (pp.xxvii-xxviii), will and action in the hypostases (p.xxviii), how can the hypostases be distinct? (pp. xxviii-xxix), the Substantial identity of the hypostases excludes their distinction Cp.xxix), the reasons for distinguishing between the hypostases and the characters which the Christians recognize
(pp.xxix-xxx), the Divine attributes (life and reason), rapport with the hypostases (pp.xxx-xxxi), God is not necessarily the Creator (p.xxxi), reasons to reject the attributes of the Divine Substance (pp.xxxi-xxxii), the symbol of the triade (p.xxxii), the contradiction of the existence of hypostases with perfection (pp. xxxii-xxxiii), on the assimilation of hypostases with Divine attributes (p.xxxiii), against theological verbalism (pp.xxxiiixxxiv), the notion of generation (p.xxxiv), its necessarily anthro pomorphic character (p.xxxiv), the hypostases can only be identi fied with the attributes (pp.xxxiv-xxxv), Abel then launches into a discussion of various historical aspects of the dialog (pp.xxxvxliii), including a great deal regarding the Muslim polemicist Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Kindi Cnot to be confused with the Christian 'Abd al-MasTh al-Kindl, who wrote in roughly the same time period).
