Ramon Harvey
@RamonIHarvey
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Lecturer in Islamic Studies @CMC_Cambridge | Maturidi and Husserl | Editor: Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Scripture and Theology
London / Cambridge
Joined January 2011
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I'm teaching Nur al-Din al-Sabuni's Maturidi kalam manual Al-Bidaya fi usul al-din, translated as An Introduction to Islamic Theology. This is a two-part online course (8 weeks each) with registration for either/both parts. Further details and registration
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My new book will be published next month and is now available for pre-order from
@EdinburghUP
. There is 30% off the hardback price if you use the code NEW30.
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Here is a good illustration of what I mean when I say early Hadith critics were doing isnad-cum-matn analysis. A diagram I made a while ago from al-Daraqutni’s (d. 385) analysis of a hadith in Bukhari (may have some inaccuracies but the general idea is right). Look familiar?
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Really excited to share the last few years of research when this is released in the summer. Hopefully the cover will be finalised soon.
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Be careful about which texts you deeply study. It is very hard to avoid starting to think like the author. As the Prophet, upon him be peace, said: "A person follows the religion of his close friend, so be careful who you take for close friends!" (Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi)
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Congratulations to
@KaraSeyfeddin
on the publication of his
@EdinburghUP
monograph in Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Scripture and Theology! A significant book for both Qur’an and Hadith studies.
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I'm so happy to hold the printed copy of my new book.
@EdinburghUP
have done an exceptional job with review, cover and internal design. The cover image that I chose is mosaic tiles from the Ulugh Beg Madrasa in Samarqand (of course!), which has been subtly underset with stars.
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Kind of hilarious if the newly rediscovered Maghazi of Musa b. Uqba receives three different translations. It seems interest in early Islam never went away, we just ran out of fresh sources!
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The Qur’an has no “genocidal passages”. Here’s my discussion of its likely allusion to the Banu Qurayza incident, which is sometimes (mistakenly, I think) brought up in this context.
It’s really funny when Piers Morgan gets angry when someone calls him a propagandist!
Here he is nakedly exposed, not only as a pure propagandist, but also as a pure racist, who stands only with white Ukraine, yet with no heart when it comes to colored Palestinians.
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Coming Dec 2024 in Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Scripture and Theology... Tawatur in Islamic Thought: Transmission, Certitude and Orthodoxy by
@suheil_laher
. A definitive academic study of this epistemological concept across multiple Islamic disciplines.
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I mainly tweet my niche academic concerns. But it's sickening to see the Israeli occupation once again killing innocent Palestinians. Major world powers, in fact anyone with a conscience, must support an end to the occupation and giving Palestinians their rights. No ifs, no buts.
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One advantage of doing a peer review for Brill. I know this is Open Access, but I want to do justice to this major study and to be able to reach for it as a reference.
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Hadith critics did not grade hadiths by an arbitrary or anecdotal measure of narrator accuracy. Their judgement was formed by analysing the degree of corroboration for the report (matn) of a narrator from their peers at each branch of transmission (isnad). This is foundational.
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At long last, Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi's 43-volume work compiling the biographies of female Hadith narrators has been published.
عاجل = عاجل = عاجل
تزف دار المنهاج البشرى بصدور الموسوعة العالمية التي تجمع بين دفتيها تراجم عشرة آلاف امرأة تقريباً
إنها موسوعة
#الوفاء بأسماء النساء
في 43 مجلداً
تأليف الدكتور محمد أكرم الندوي
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I seek refuge in God from the Islamic studies Twitter grift.
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So, I asked my students what they thought was the biggest contemporary challenge that Islamic theology (kalam) should engage. The most popular answer was AI.
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Salam from blessed Makkah! May God Most High ease your every hardship. 🤲
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Hi
@DrJavadTHashmi
. You've asked me lots of questions on a bunch of threads and unfortunately I don't have spare time to discuss them all. I will try to mention the main points as I see them. I think the heart of our disagreement is that I don't think that the main Western
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Al-Maturidi is an exceptional theologian and still often misunderstood (usually because of assumptions from classical kalam). It takes a lot of patience to understand him on his own terms, but when you grasp his vision…amazing. I’m working on some great projects to present him.
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Thanks to the generosity of the
@templeton_fdn
, my book Transcendent God, Rational World has gone open access! I'm delighted that it will be accessible to readers all over the world.
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Looking forward to this excellent book in our edited
@EdinburghUP
series later this year.
@KaraSeyfeddin
has produced a rigorous ICMA study of Hadith from both Sunni and Shi'i sources, arguing persuasively for a very early closure of the Qur'anic text.
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“God existed without place, and He is as He existed, exalted above time and place because upon them depend the limits and ends of things.” - Abu Mansur al-Maturidi
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My article “Islamic Theology and the Crisis of Contemporary Science: Naquib al-Attas’ ‘Metaphysical Critique’ and a Husserlian Alternative” has been published in the journal Theology and Science. Thanks to
@DrShoaibAM
as SI editor. Here are 50 copies:
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New Call for Papers: I’m very excited to be an organiser for this important online conference on Hadith. The conference will, among other aims, provide a “state of the art” assessment of isnad-cum-matn analysis from diverse scholarly perspectives.
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Only people who haven't studied the early history of Qur'anic transmission properly think it is a simple topic that can be condensed down to a few tweets.
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This is for agnostic posters on here: open-minded people yearning for God, but not finding the claims of Christianity something in which you can believe. Look into Islamic beliefs - you may find yourself pleasantly surprised. God bless you on your journey.
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I’m increasingly convinced that the majority of Muslims seeking a balanced rational and Qur’anic understanding of religion would find in the theology of Abu Mansur al-Maturidi and the early Samarqandi Hanafis what they are looking for. For me, this is a karama of Imam al-Huda!
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Going to school, my daughter (9) asked how it is we can move. I said: do you want the physical explanation or how Allah lets us do it? Her: Allah. I explained al-Maturidi’s account of ikhtiyar and got her to try to feel the moment of choice. Then I spoke about brain and muscles.
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I follow the Hanafi school and have written books and articles on the Hanafi tradition and using Hanafi legal and theological 'usul. But this "my Hanafi fingers holding my Hanafi spoon to eat my Hanafi cereal" trend is cringeworthy.
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Three years since publication and more than 500 copies sold in all formats. Grateful to everyone who has inspired, supported, read and cited my work!
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This one of the reasons that I co-organised a scholarly conference on isnad-cum-matn analysis, and invited voices from across the spectrum (Sunni/Shi’i traditionalism to Western isnad scepticism). The “isnads are meaningless” take is a fringe view in today’s global academy.
After years of studying hadith science, I've come to the conclusion that isnad science is indeed a joke, isnads are essentially meaningless—an illusion. Here are a few reasons why:
-Transformation of Reports: Interrupted (mursal/mawquf) reports are often transformed into marfu'
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I'm happy to join the faculty of
@CMC_Cambridge
as Aziz Foundation Lecturer in Islamic Studies (I was previously visiting while based
@EbrahimCollege
). I thank all my past and present colleagues and students, and of course
@AzizFndn
@asifaziz_
. Very excited for the journey ahead!
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The Qur'an is evidently not "untranslatable" in practice. There is no theological consensus that its meanings cannot be rendered into other languages nor juristic consensus that its translation can never be recited in prayer (salat). It is just an often repeated claim.
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Ya Allah! We cry out for al-Aqsa's people in this night, Your night. Lift injustice from them and grant them ease. Amin!
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Al-Maturidi articulating the necessity of God's existence prior to Ibn Sina's influence: "It is incumbent upon the Muslims to profess that God exists necessarily."
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Now available as an Open Access ebook here:
@DanielTutt
New Book!
@DanielTutt
and I have edited Justice in Islam: New Ethical Perspectives (published by IIIT). This is a slim volume, but features some interesting chapters, including by
@phildorroll
. We think our introduction will be useful as an assigned reading. Out soon inshallah...
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If you're making reading lists for next year, consider assigning The Qur'an and the Just Society. It would work well on upper undergraduate/graduate courses on the Qur'an, Islamic ethics etc. Here's Oliver Leaman's positive review:
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Twentieth-century Islamic studies.
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I have abridged the first chapter of my book, The Qur'an and the Just Society, for Yaqeen Institute. I hope it can serve as a useful primer for Qur'anic ethics and an encouragement to read the full work. Enjoy!
[ New Publication ] Dr. Ramon Harvey takes us through the Qur’an’s moral narrative in four distinct stages: primordial covenant (mīthāq), natural disposition (fiṭrah), prophecy (nubuwwah), and eschatology (ākhirah).
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Al-Maturidi speaks to me as a theologian because he gets the dynamics of our world and how they reflect the creative activity of the wise deity revealed in the Qur’an. I will take his insight into the human condition over technical arguments and speculative metaphysics any day.
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Teaching kalam is great fun. After an intense discussion over whether "al-ma'dum shay'" (the non-existent is a thing), a student asked me if I wanted tea. I couldn't resist answering: "al-shay ma'dum" (the tea is non-existent, i.e. before it is made).
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I’m very excited to announce that the Turkish translation of The Qur’an and the Just Society will be published by
@ekinkitap
! Thanks also to
@EdinburghUP
for making this happen.
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All Muslim scholars and academics should read al-Ghazali's Ayyuha al-walad. If it was all you had, but you acted upon it, it would be enough.
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I just finished
@LauraJayHassan
’s Ash’arism Encounters Avicennism, so here’s some reflections. This is a very impressive first monograph, especially given the difficult balancing act the author has to pull off, which matches the intellectual one faced by al-Āmidī, her main focus.
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Al-Fiqh al-akbar is probably one of the most famous theological treatises ascribed to Abu Hanifa, but there is debate around it. Wensinck argued for it being a later work and some Muslim scholars such as Shibli Nu'mani agreed. Others have argued it is genuine. Here is a thread.
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I don't accept that God describes Himself as a spatial, temporal or corporeal being in the Qur'an. To say that He does is to apply an unbefitting hermeneutic to a text that again and again declares God's uniqueness and transcendence, while still affirming His distinct attributes.
If the view that God acts in succession and is outside of the world isn’t very compelling for dialogue with others, then why did God choose to describe Himself with such language in the His final revelation to mankind?
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This is bizarre. From beginning to end, citation after citation, it is entirely plagiarised from Chapter 4 of my book.
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With respect to divine eternality and creation ex nihilo, I follow al-Maturidi in arguing that God acts timelessly in creating the world in its spatiotemporality, including a first moment. This is a coherent position and I haven’t received a non-question-begging objection to it.
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My article 'Mistaken Indentity: An Investigation into Abu Hanifa's al-Fiqh al-akbar' has been published in the Journal of the American Oriental Society. I try to settle the question of authorship and reception.
Here's the article:
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I can’t help think that a chapter I recently published might give some useful resources for thinking through questions of Islamic values and tradition in the Western public square. Open Access in our volume:
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Nice-looking collection of the five most prominent Hanafi and Maturidi 'aqida texts. Alhamdulillah, I have studied/taught all of these in some capacity.
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A lot of Islamic theological debates on here feel stuck. Interlocutors locked in place refuting the same old adversaries, rehearsing the same old arguments. Yes, these are sometimes perennial issues, but it also feels indicative of underdeveloped theological research programmes.
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I use this (deteriorating) site for academic announcements, comments and discussion about Islamic studies etc. I rarely remark on current affairs here. But let me say clearly that I support justice for the Palestinians and ALL people, and condemn the killing of ALL innocents.
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Salam from Madinah! May God Most High illuminate for us the way of all His prophets and messengers, and that of His Beloved, Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.
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My first philosophy article has been published in the journal Philosophia. I appreciate all the people who have encouraged me to work in this field.
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It’s Eid and I’m chilling. Feel free to ask me anything (within reason).
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I led the Eid prayer today for extended family in beautiful Pembrokeshire, Wales. Eid Mubarak to all. May we return again and again in a better state to celebrate with our loved ones until the final meeting in Paradise. Amin!
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I am happy to announce that my second book, a work of contemporary Muslim theology drawing especially on the Maturidi tradition, will be published by Edinburgh University Press.
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Meanwhile, al-Maturidi is off solving the problems they tied themselves in knots over.
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I'm delighted to announce that
@DrShoaibAM
and I are organising a global online conference in April 2025 on Proofs for God's Existence in Islamic Thought hosted by
@CMC_Cambridge
. We look forward to convening a unique scholarly conversation. See our CfP:
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Hussein Abdulsater's magnificent book Al-Jahiz and Religious Knowledge: A Forgotten Islamic Rationalism will be published next year in Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Scripture and Theology. This will be a major contribution to early kalam/Abbasid studies
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O God! Save the people of Gaza from this killing and grant those who are unjustly slain the highest degrees of Paradise. You are truly the Wise, the Just, the Gracious.
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Fitting the round peg of sharia into the square hole of nation state and "late" capitalism doesn't work properly but neither does a retreat into a nostalgic imagining of the premodern world. The reconciliation we yearn for to live the sharia ethically in modernity is yet unborn.
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The maqam of Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi. This photo has just been sent to me by someone visiting Uzbekistan.
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New Book!
@DanielTutt
and I have edited Justice in Islam: New Ethical Perspectives (published by IIIT). This is a slim volume, but features some interesting chapters, including by
@phildorroll
. We think our introduction will be useful as an assigned reading. Out soon inshallah...
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Someone asked me my position on God being described with a “hand” or a “face” in the Qur’an.
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I just received proofs for this article to be published next month in JAOS. My attempt to resolve the question mark hanging over the authorship of the creed al-Fiqh al-akbar II (aka riwaya Hammad) and to demonstrate how it entered the mainstream Hanafi tradition.
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I'm glad to hear excitement is building for the release of
@KaraSeyfeddin
's monograph, The Integrity of the Qur'an, in our series. It is a timely methodological intervention, which impacts Qur'anic Studies, Hadith Studies and early Islamic history: .
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My book is currently discounted to £17.99. I study social justice thematically in the Qur'an and draw out ethical principles. I also discuss historical context, theological debates and interpretative method. Check it out!
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I just don’t understand why people think what is to all intents and purposes a spatial, temporal and corporeal understanding of God is at all compelling for Muslims, let alone for dialogue with others.
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واعلم ان العلم الذي لا يبعدك اليوم عن المعاصي ولا يحملك على الطاعة لن يبعدك غدا عن نار جهنم
Know that knowledge which does not distance you today from disobedience, nor carry you to obedience, will never distance you tomorrow from the fire of Hell.
Al-Ghazali - Ayyuha al-walad
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Just recorded an hour long podcast episode on the compilation of the Qur'an and related questions. An accessible overview of the topic for the general listener, including current scholarship. The project is called Islam through the Ages and the episode should drop in September.
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Coming soon…for more information and to register for online attendance:
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Hope everyone on the TL is well. Feel free to ask me questions about my work in Qur’anic studies or Islamic theology. I’ll try to respond, but I don’t have time to give detailed answers or put together reading lists at the moment. And I prioritise engaging non-anonymous accounts.
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So, my new book is finished (well, ready to send to the publisher any day now for review). The working title is Transcendent God, Rational World: A Neo-Māturīdī Theology. It will be published by Edinburgh University Press in 2021 in the new series I am editing.
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Islamic theology needs to be verifiable by public reason because Islam includes the political. A basic point, but a profound one epistemologically.
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Given currently heightened interest in the early history of Qur'anic readings, here is a link to my peer-reviewed 2017 article discussing readings of Ibn Mas'ud that are significant for legal rulings and their reception in Kufa and the Hanafi madhhab:
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Al-Maturidi critiqued the basic principles of (pre-Ibn Sina) emanationist cosmology nearly 200 years before al-Ghazali with an intellectually serious treatment. It is a shame classical Maturidis didn’t build on his contribution. It might have inoculated against later problems.
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I need to correct a mistaken assumption. I didn't take what I'm saying from Dickinson (or Brown) at all, useful though their works are, but from actually having studied primary hadith texts with a world-class muhaddith (Dr Akram Nadwi). When I was writing the book I asked him
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One thing that has struck me in recent close reading of Abu Mansur al-Maturidi’s Kitab al-tawhid is the following: his most prominent expression in characterising God is a Qur’anic one: ‘alim hakim (omniscient and wise). I think this reveals something profound about his theology.
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My mum gave me an old carrom board that was at her house to fix. We have been having a lot of fun playing with this!
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I’m excited Dr Suleyman Dost’s book An Arabian Qur’an: Material Sources for a History of the Muslim Scripture will appear in Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Scripture and Theology. Dost uses inscriptions in numerous ancient languages to shed light on the Qur’an’s religious context.
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Eid Afternoon in the London, just chilling. Hope everyone is well. Ask me anything (within reason about my academic work etc). Nothing that requires more than a tweet to answer.
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Just received two incredibly kind emails from people who have been reading my books. Please do write to authors - it's very encouraging. And have mercy on us in our capacity to reply!
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It’s a fair criticism that academic scholars of Islamic studies sometimes read the Arabic primary texts partially and inaccurately. It is also a fair criticism that “traditionalist” critics of academic scholars tend to commit exactly the same errors when they read academic works.
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From the conclusion to The Qur’an and the Just Society. Sharing in the hope that it is helpful in these days of heightened injustice and killing. Praying for the umma of Islam and the umma of Bani Adam.
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Just as the world, as a whole, does not have a spatial location relative to God, it does not, as a whole, have a temporal location relative to God. Rather, God exists, timelessly, as other to the temporal world.
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You can get a taste of my new book, Transcendent God, Rational World: A Maturidi Theology, by downloading the introduction from here: or here: .
Publisher's page: (hardback 30% off with code NEW30).
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Happy to see the cover for the new monograph by
@BeyondFound2023
researcher Safaruk Chowdhury: Islamic Theology and the Problem of Evil. An important contribution to Islamic analytic theology.
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A video in which I go through the history of theology in Islam with an accessible interview-style format.
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A date has been set in August for recording the friendly dialogue between
@theRTMullins
and myself on God and Time in Islamic Theology! Ryan will defend a temporal conception and I will defend timelessness. We are very happy to be hosted on Blogging Theology by
@freemonotheist
.
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