ABSTRACT
Taqī l-Dīn Aḥmad Ibn Taymiyyah, jurist, theologian and religious reformer (661/1262-728/1328), is one of the most influential and controversial figures in Islamic history. He was imprisoned several times for his political opinions and polemic arguments against the dominant religious and political powers in his time. His emphasis on the literal interpretation of the Qurānic verses concerning the attributes of Allāh angered many scholars and “aroused public opinion against him”. Moreover, his anti-taqlīd (the uncritical adherence to a particular madhhab) attitude and some other common jurisprudential issues brought him into conflict with other orthodox and non-orthodox jurists. Although Ibn Taymiyyah is considered to be a Ḥanbalī scholar for his acceptance of the essential principles on which the Ḥanbalī madhhab is founded, he rejects a considerable number of Ibn Ḥanbal’s opinions. He was well-known for his intolerant criticism of non-Salafī sects including the Muϲtazilīs and Ashϲarīs. 1 Similarly, he was very critical of Muslim philosophers, like al-Fārābī and Ibn Sīnā, for what he calls ‘their blind adherence to Greek philosophy’. 2
He was particularly critical of the concept of universals, since for him universals are nothing more than the human mind’s intellectualization of the external realities which may or may not conform to those realities. For him realities are always specific and particular. 3
