Abstract:

First paragraph: Although the relationship between kalām and philosophy (or be-tween religion and philosophy) remains one of the most popular subjects in Islamic studies, much of the discussion appears to be con-fined exclusively to al-Ghazālī’s refutation and Ibn Rushd’s defense of philosophy in Tahāfut al-falāsifa and Tahāfut al-Tahāfut, respectively. Needless to say, this discussion should be enriched by introducing new figures, works, and centuries. Ibn al-Malāḥimī’s (d. 536/1141) Tuḥfat al-mutakallimīn fī l-radd ʿalā l-falāsifa (Gift for the Theologians in Refutation of the Philosophers), edited by Hassan Ansari and Wilferd Madelung in 2008 (Tehran: Iranian Institute of Philosophy & Institute of Islamic Studies Free University of Berlin) can be seen as an important contribution to this enrichment. What makes Ibn al-Malāḥimī particularly significant is his affiliation to the Muʿtazila as a member of the school of al-Ḥusayniyya, founded by Abū l-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī, in Khwārazm. For, although the critique of philosophy done by Sunnī and salafī theologians is relatively well known in the litera-ture, we still lack adequate detailed examination of the Muʿtazilī theologians’ approach to philosophy.

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