Freethinkers of Medieval Islam : : Ibn al-Rāwandī, Abū Bakr al-Rāzī, and Their Impact on Islamic Thought / / Sarah Stroumsa.

• Superior document: Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science. Texts and Studies ; 35
• VerfasserIn: Stroumsa, Sarah,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden;, Boston : : BRILL,, 1999.
• Year of Publication: 1999
• Language: English
• Series: Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science. Texts and Studies ; 35.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (236 p.)
• Notes: First published 1965 by Routledge and Kegan Paul Limited.

This book endeavors to identify and define the phenomenon of freethinking in medieval Islam, in particular as exemplified in the figures of the two most notorious intellectual heretics, Ibn al-Rāwandī (9th C.) and Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (10th C.). The development of Islamic freethinking is analyzed on the background of the paramount importance of prophetology in Islam. The book examines the image of the freethinkers in Islam and its connection to the legacy of late antiquity, and to the traditions about Indian and Sabian religions. The last chapters examine repercussions of his phenomenon in various aspects of Muslim, Jewish and Christian medieval thought. It is argued that, despite its rare occurrence, freethinking was in fact a pivotal Islamic phenomenon, which had a major impact on the development of Islamic thought.

Table of Contents

Book Cover; Title; Contents; PREFACE; GLOSSARY; DATES; ARABIA AND HER NEIGHBOURS; THE PROPHET; THE FIRST CONQUESTS; THE CIVIL WARS; THE ARAB EMPIRE; THE ABBASID REVOLUTION; THE BREAKUP OF THE CALIPHATE; THE ISMA'ILIAN SCHISM; THE TURKISH IRRUPTION; THE CHRISTIAN COUNTER-ATTACK; THE MONGOL DISASTER; THE CIVILIZATION OF MEDIEVAL ISLAM; INDEX