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Abu al-Husayn Ahmad bin Yahya ben Isaac al-Rawandi was born in [[Greater Khorasan]], today located in northwest [[Afghanistan]], about the year 827 CE.<ref name=enc>[https://books.google.com/books?id=H-k9oc9xsuAC&pg=PA349 Medieval Islamic Civilization By Josef W. Meri, Jere L. Bacharach]</ref> According to the Egyptian scholar [[Abdur Rahman Badawi]], Al-Rawandi was born in [[Basra]] at the time of the [[Abbassid]] Caliph [[Al-Mamoun]].<ref>Min Tareekh Al-Ilhad Fi Al-Islam, From the History of Atheism in Islam by Abd-El Rahman Badawi pages: 87–206, Second edition 1991, Sinaa Lil Nasher Egypt (Arabic)</ref> His father, Yahya, was a Jewish scholar and convert to Islam, who schooled Muslims in how to refute the [[Talmud]].<ref>Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Genealogy to Iqbal Page 636</ref>
Abu al-Husayn Ahmad bin Yahya ben Isaac al-Rawandi was born in [[Greater Khorasan]], today located in northwest [[Afghanistan]], about the year 827 CE.<ref name=enc>[https://books.google.com/books?id=H-k9oc9xsuAC&pg=PA349 Medieval Islamic Civilization By Josef W. Meri, Jere L. Bacharach]</ref> According to the Egyptian scholar [[Abdur Rahman Badawi]], Al-Rawandi was born in [[Basra]] at the time of the [[Abbassid]] Caliph [[Al-Mamoun]].<ref>Min Tareekh Al-Ilhad Fi Al-Islam, From the History of Atheism in Islam by Abd-El Rahman Badawi pages: 87–206, Second edition 1991, Sinaa Lil Nasher Egypt (Arabic)</ref> His father, Yahya, was a Jewish scholar and convert to Islam, who schooled Muslims in how to refute the [[Talmud]].<ref>Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Genealogy to Iqbal Page 636</ref>


He joined the Mu'tazili of [[Baghdad]], and gained prominence among them. But then he became estranged from his fellow Mu'tazilites, and formed close alliances with [[Shia Muslims]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Groff |first1=Peter |title=Islamic Philosophy A-Z |date=2007 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press Ltd. |location=Edinburgh |isbn=978-0-7486-2089-0 |pages=86-87 |quote=A protean freethinker who experimented with Mu'tazilism and Shi'ism before finally embracing atheism, Ibn al-Rawandi was condemned by most Muslims as a dangerous heretic.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Grant |first1=Edward |title=A History of Natural Philosophy: From the Ancient World to the Nineteenth Century |date=2007 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=9780511292101 |pages=84-87 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-g26ckhZ21wC&pg=RA1-PA84#v=onepage&q&f=false |access-date=8 March 2021 |quote=Early in his life, Ibn al-Rawandi was a Mutazilite scholar, who, like all Mutazilite scholars sought to apply Greek philosophy to explicate Islamic theology. After rejecting Mutazilism, he turned for a while to Shi'ism. At some point, however, and for reasons that are apparently unknown, al-Rawnadi became a free thinker and repudiated Islam and revealed religion.}}</ref> and then with non-Muslims ([[Manichaeism|Manichaeans]], [[Judaism|Jews]] and perhaps also [[Christianity|Christians]]). He then became a follower of the Manichaean ''[[zindiq]]'' [[Abu Isa al-Warraq]] before eventually rejecting religion in general, writing several books that criticized all religion, with a particular focus on Islam.<ref>{{cite book |first=Sarah |last=Stroumsa | year=2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H-k9oc9xsuAC&pg=PA349 |title= Medieval Islamic Civilization |editor1-first = Josef W. |editor1-last = Meri |editor2-first = Jere L. |editor2-last = Bacharach |quote= He became estranged from his former colleagues, perhaps due to his association with his mentor, the Manichaean Abu 'Isa al-Warraq. From that point on Ibn al-Rawandi is depicted by most (though not all) of our sources as a heretic who maliciously scoffs at all religions, particularly Islam...He spared no religion, but his most severe criticism was directed against Islam.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Groff |first1=Peter |title=Islamic Philosophy A-Z |date=2007 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press Ltd. |location=Edinburgh |isbn=978-0-7486-2089-0 |pages=86-87 |quote=A protean freethinker who experimented with Mu'tazilism and Shi'ism before finally embracing atheism, Ibn al-Rawandi was condemned by most Muslims as a dangerous heretic.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Grant |first1=Edward |title=A History of Natural Philosophy: From the Ancient World to the Nineteenth Century |date=2007 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=9780511292101 |pages=84-87 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-g26ckhZ21wC&pg=RA1-PA84#v=onepage&q&f=false |access-date=8 March 2021 |quote=Early in his life, Ibn al-Rawandi was a Mutazilite scholar, who, like all Mutazilite scholars sought to apply Greek philosophy to explicate Islamic theology. After rejecting Mutazilism, he turned for a while to Shi'ism. At some point, however, and for reasons that are apparently unknown, al-Rawnadi became a free thinker and repudiated Islam and revealed religion.}}</ref>
He joined the Mu'tazili of [[Baghdad]], and gained prominence among them. But then he became estranged from his fellow Mu'tazilites, and formed close alliances with [[Shia Muslims]]{{Citation needed|date=April 2018}}and then with non-Muslims ([[Manichaeism|Manichaeans]], [[Judaism|Jews]] and perhaps also [[Christianity|Christians]]). He then became a follower of the Manichaean ''[[zindiq]]'' [[Abu Isa al-Warraq]] in which he wrote several books that criticized revealed religion.<ref name=enc/>


== Philosophy ==
== Philosophy ==
Most sources agree that he spent time as a [[Mu'tazilite]] and a Shi'ia before eventually denouncing all religion.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Inati |first1=Shams C |title=Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy |date=2000 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York NY |isbn=0-415-22364-4 |page=377 |quote= ... Ibn ar-Rawandi wavered between a number of Islamic sects and then abandoned all of them in favour of atheism.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=al-A'sam |first1=A. |title=History of Ibn Ar-Riwandi the Heretic |date=1975 |publisher=dar al-afaq al-Jadida |location=Beirut}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Groff |first1=Peter |title=Islamic Philosophy A-Z |date=2007 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press Ltd. |location=Edinburgh |isbn=978-0-7486-2089-0 |pages=86-87 |quote=A protean freethinker who experimented with Mu'tazilism and Shi'ism before finally embracing atheism, Ibn al-Rawandi was condemned by most Muslims as a dangerous heretic.}}</ref> Some sources claim that his heresy was overstated by his rivals and look for the roots of his views in his connections with Shi'ia Islam,<ref name=":0" /> or depict him as a [[Mu'tazilite]].
There is no agreement as to the nature of his views. Some look for the roots of his views in his connections with Shi'ia Islam,<ref name=":0" /> and depict him as a [[Mu'tazilite]].


Ibn al-Rawandi spent time as a [[Mu'tazilite]] and later a [[Shia]] scholar, before eventually turning to [[atheism]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Inati |first1=Shams C |title=Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy |date=2000 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York NY |isbn=0-415-22364-4 |page=377 |quote= ... Ibn ar-Rawandi wavered between a number of Islamic sects and then abandoned all of them in favour of atheism.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=al-A'sam |first1=A. |title=History of Ibn Ar-Riwandi the Heretic |date=1975 |publisher=dar al-afaq al-Jadida |location=Beirut}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Groff |first1=Peter |title=Islamic Philosophy A-Z |date=2007 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press Ltd. |location=Edinburgh |isbn=978-0-7486-2089-0 |pages=86-87 |quote=A protean freethinker who experimented with Mu'tazilism and Shi'ism before finally embracing atheism, Ibn al-Rawandi was condemned by most Muslims as a dangerous heretic.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Stroumsa |first1=Sarah |title=Freethinkers of Medieval Islam: Ibn Al-Rāwandī, Abū Bakr Al-Rāzī, and Their Impact on Islamic Thought |date=1999 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden, Netherlands |isbn=978-9004315471}}</ref>. Most of his over 114 books have been lost, but those with at least some remaining fragments include ''The Scandal of the Mu'tazilites (Fadihat al-mu'tazila)'', which presents the arguments of various Mu'tazilite theologians and then makes the case that they are internally inconsistent, ''The Refutation (ad-Damigh)'', which attacks the Qur'an, and ''The Book of the Diamond (Kitab al-zumurrud)'' which critiques prophecy and rejects Islam<ref>{{cite book |last1=Groff |first1=Peter |title=Islamic Philosophy A-Z |date=2007 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press Ltd. |location=Edinburgh |isbn=978-0-7486-2089-0 |pages=86-87 |quote=Of the 114 books he composed only a few fragments remain, preserved through the refutations of subsequent authors. Of these, the most important are The Scandal of the Mu'tazilites (Fadihat al-mu'tazila), which attempts to refute the major Mu'tazilite theologians, The Refutation (al-Damigh), which attacks the Qur'an, and The Book of the Diamond (Kitab al-zumurrud), which offers up a scathing critique of prophecy.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Inati |first1=Shams |title=Ibn ar-Rawandi |url=http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/rep/H035.htm |website=MuslimPhilosophy.com |publisher=Routledge |access-date=6 March 2021}}</ref>. Among other things, he critiques dogma as antithetical to reason, argues miracles are fake, that prophets (including [[Muhammed]]) are just magicians, and that the Paradise described by the Qur'an is not actually desirable<ref>{{cite book |last1=Groff |first1=Peter |title=Islamic Philosophy A-Z |date=2007 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press Ltd. |location=Edinburgh |isbn=978-0-7486-2089-0 |pages=86-87 |quote=In these works alone, he (1) rejects all religious dogmas as unacceptable to reason, (2) argues that prophets - Muhammad included - are like sorcerers and magicians, and that their miracles are entirely fictitious, (3) questions the necessity of prophecy and revelation if God is indeed all-powerful, (4) denies that the Qur'an is the revealed word of God and that it has any unique aesthetic value, (5) maintains that the God of the Qur''an is ultimately all-too-human and imperfect (i.e. lacking in knowledge and wisdom, easily angered, quick to punish, excessive, arbitrary, and unjust), (6) argues that the world is eternal and we are by no means compelled to posit a first divine cause, and (7) points out that Paradise as described in the Qur'an does not seem particularly desirable.}}</ref>.
Ibn al-Rawandi spent time as a [[Mu'tazilite]] and later a [[Shia]] scholar, before eventually turning to [[atheism]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Inati |first1=Shams C |title=Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy |date=2000 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York NY |isbn=0-415-22364-4 |page=377 |quote= ... Ibn ar-Rawandi wavered between a number of Islamic sects and then abandoned all of them in favour of atheism.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=al-A'sam |first1=A. |title=History of Ibn Ar-Riwandi the Heretic |date=1975 |publisher=dar al-afaq al-Jadida |location=Beirut}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Groff |first1=Peter |title=Islamic Philosophy A-Z |date=2007 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press Ltd. |location=Edinburgh |isbn=978-0-7486-2089-0 |pages=86-87 |quote=A protean freethinker who experimented with Mu'tazilism and Shi'ism before finally embracing atheism, Ibn al-Rawandi was condemned by most Muslims as a dangerous heretic.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Stroumsa |first1=Sarah |title=Freethinkers of Medieval Islam: Ibn Al-Rāwandī, Abū Bakr Al-Rāzī, and Their Impact on Islamic Thought |date=1999 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden, Netherlands |isbn=978-9004315471}}</ref>. Most of his over 114 books have been lost, but those with at least some remaining fragments include ''The Scandal of the Mu'tazilites (Fadihat al-mu'tazila)'', which presents the arguments of various Mu'tazilite theologians and then makes the case that they are internally inconsistent, ''The Refutation (ad-Damigh)'', which attacks the Qur'an, and ''The Book of the Diamond (Kitab al-zumurrud)'' which critiques prophecy and rejects Islam<ref>{{cite book |last1=Groff |first1=Peter |title=Islamic Philosophy A-Z |date=2007 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press Ltd. |location=Edinburgh |isbn=978-0-7486-2089-0 |pages=86-87 |quote=Of the 114 books he composed only a few fragments remain, preserved through the refutations of subsequent authors. Of these, the most important are The Scandal of the Mu'tazilites (Fadihat al-mu'tazila), which attempts to refute the major Mu'tazilite theologians, The Refutation (al-Damigh), which attacks the Qur'an, and The Book of the Diamond (Kitab al-zumurrud), which offers up a scathing critique of prophecy.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Inati |first1=Shams |title=Ibn ar-Rawandi |url=http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/rep/H035.htm |website=MuslimPhilosophy.com |publisher=Routledge |access-date=6 March 2021}}</ref>. Among other things, he critiques dogma as antithetical to reason, argues miracles are fake, that prophets (including [[Muhammed]]) are just magicians, and that the Paradise described by the Qur'an is not actually desirable<ref>{{cite book |last1=Groff |first1=Peter |title=Islamic Philosophy A-Z |date=2007 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press Ltd. |location=Edinburgh |isbn=978-0-7486-2089-0 |pages=86-87 |quote=In these works alone, he (1) rejects all religious dogmas as unacceptable to reason, (2) argues that prophets - Muhammad included - are like sorcerers and magicians, and that their miracles are entirely fictitious, (3) questions the necessity of prophecy and revelation if God is indeed all-powerful, (4) denies that the Qur'an is the revealed word of God and that it has any unique aesthetic value, (5) maintains that the God of the Qur''an is ultimately all-too-human and imperfect (i.e. lacking in knowledge and wisdom, easily angered, quick to punish, excessive, arbitrary, and unjust), (6) argues that the world is eternal and we are by no means compelled to posit a first divine cause, and (7) points out that Paradise as described in the Qur'an does not seem particularly desirable.}}</ref>.


Scholars also try to account for the more positive view of Ibn al-Rawandi in some Muslim sources. [[Josef van Ess]] in particular has suggested an original interpretation that aims at accommodating all the contradictory information<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Calder |first1=Norman |title=The Barāhima: Literary Construct and Historical Reality |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London |date=1994 |volume=57 |issue=1 |page=40-51 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/619492 |access-date=8 March 2021}}</ref>. Van Ess notes that the sources which portray Ibn al-Rawandi as a heretic are predominantly Mutazilite and stem from Iraq, whereas in eastern texts he appears in a more positive light. As an explanation for this difference, van Ess suggests "a collision of two different intellectual traditions," i.e., those in [[Iran]] and in [[Iraq]]. He further suggests that Ibn al-Rawandi's notoriety was the result of the fact that after Ibn al-Rawandi left Baghdad, "his colleagues in Baghdad ... profiting from his absence ... could create a black legend." In other words, van Ess believes that Ibn al-Rawandi, although admittedly eccentric and disputatious, was not a heretic at all.
Some scholars also try to account for the more positive view of Ibn al-Rawandi in some Muslim sources. [[Josef van Ess]] in particular has suggested an original interpretation that aims at accommodating all the contradictory information<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Calder |first1=Norman |title=The Barāhima: Literary Construct and Historical Reality |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London |date=1994 |volume=57 |issue=1 |page=40-51 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/619492 |access-date=8 March 2021}}</ref>. Van Ess notes that the sources which portray Ibn al-Rawandi as a heretic are predominantly Mutazilite and stem from Iraq, whereas in eastern texts he appears in a more positive light. As an explanation for this difference, van Ess suggests "a collision of two different intellectual traditions," i.e., those in [[Iran]] and in [[Iraq]]. He further suggests that Ibn al-Rawandi's notoriety was the result of the fact that after Ibn al-Rawandi left Baghdad, "his colleagues in Baghdad ... profiting from his absence ... could create a black legend." In other words, van Ess believes that Ibn al-Rawandi, although admittedly eccentric and disputatious, was not a heretic at all. However these views are discounted by most scholars given the wealth of evidence to the contrary.<ref>{{cite book |first=Sarah |last=Stroumsa |year=2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H-k9oc9xsuAC&pg=PA349 |title= Medieval Islamic Civilization |editor1-first = Josef W. |editor1-last = Meri |editor2-first = Jere L. |editor2-last = Bacharach|quote= Although one can see this image as a distorted picture composed by his opponents (as suggested by Josef van Ess), the accumulated information provided by the texts suggests that the image had a firm base in reality, and that Ibn al-Rawandi had indeed out-stepped the boundaries of Islam.}}</ref>



== Subjects discussed in the Kitab al-Zumurrud ==
== Subjects discussed in the Kitab al-Zumurrud ==

Revision as of 04:08, 12 March 2021

Ibn Al-Rawandi
Born827 CE
Marw al-Rudh[1] Great Abbasid Empire
Died911 CE
unknown
OccupationWriter

Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn Yahya ibn Ishaq al-Rawandi (Template:Lang-ar), commonly known as Ibn al-Rawandi (Template:Lang-ar;‎ 827–911 CE[2]), was an early Persian scholar and theologian. In his early days, he was a Mu'tazilite scholar, but then rejected the Mu'tazilite doctrine. Afterwards, he became a Shia scholar; there is some debate about whether he stayed a Shia until his death or became a Skeptic[3], though most sources confirm his eventual rejection of all religion.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Although none of his works have survived, his opinions had been preserved through his critics and the surviving books that answered him.[12] His book with the most preserved fragments (through an Ismaili book refuting Al-Rawandi's ideology) is the Kitab al-Zumurrud (The Book of the Emerald).

Life

Abu al-Husayn Ahmad bin Yahya ben Isaac al-Rawandi was born in Greater Khorasan, today located in northwest Afghanistan, about the year 827 CE.[13] According to the Egyptian scholar Abdur Rahman Badawi, Al-Rawandi was born in Basra at the time of the Abbassid Caliph Al-Mamoun.[14] His father, Yahya, was a Jewish scholar and convert to Islam, who schooled Muslims in how to refute the Talmud.[15]

He joined the Mu'tazili of Baghdad, and gained prominence among them. But then he became estranged from his fellow Mu'tazilites, and formed close alliances with Shia Muslims[16][17] and then with non-Muslims (Manichaeans, Jews and perhaps also Christians). He then became a follower of the Manichaean zindiq Abu Isa al-Warraq before eventually rejecting religion in general, writing several books that criticized all religion, with a particular focus on Islam.[18][19][20]

Philosophy

Most sources agree that he spent time as a Mu'tazilite and a Shi'ia before eventually denouncing all religion.[21][22][23] Some sources claim that his heresy was overstated by his rivals and look for the roots of his views in his connections with Shi'ia Islam,[2] or depict him as a Mu'tazilite.

Ibn al-Rawandi spent time as a Mu'tazilite and later a Shia scholar, before eventually turning to atheism[24][25][26][27]. Most of his over 114 books have been lost, but those with at least some remaining fragments include The Scandal of the Mu'tazilites (Fadihat al-mu'tazila), which presents the arguments of various Mu'tazilite theologians and then makes the case that they are internally inconsistent, The Refutation (ad-Damigh), which attacks the Qur'an, and The Book of the Diamond (Kitab al-zumurrud) which critiques prophecy and rejects Islam[28][29]. Among other things, he critiques dogma as antithetical to reason, argues miracles are fake, that prophets (including Muhammed) are just magicians, and that the Paradise described by the Qur'an is not actually desirable[30].

Some scholars also try to account for the more positive view of Ibn al-Rawandi in some Muslim sources. Josef van Ess in particular has suggested an original interpretation that aims at accommodating all the contradictory information[31]. Van Ess notes that the sources which portray Ibn al-Rawandi as a heretic are predominantly Mutazilite and stem from Iraq, whereas in eastern texts he appears in a more positive light. As an explanation for this difference, van Ess suggests "a collision of two different intellectual traditions," i.e., those in Iran and in Iraq. He further suggests that Ibn al-Rawandi's notoriety was the result of the fact that after Ibn al-Rawandi left Baghdad, "his colleagues in Baghdad ... profiting from his absence ... could create a black legend." In other words, van Ess believes that Ibn al-Rawandi, although admittedly eccentric and disputatious, was not a heretic at all. However these views are discounted by most scholars given the wealth of evidence to the contrary.[32]


Subjects discussed in the Kitab al-Zumurrud

Muslim traditions

According to the Zumurrud, traditions concerning miracles are inevitably problematic. At the time of the performance of a supposed miracle only a small number of people could be close enough to the Prophet to observe his deeds. Reports given by such a small number of people cannot be trusted, for such a small group can easily have conspired to lie. The Muslim tradition thus falls into the category of flimsy traditions, those based on a single authority (khabar al-ahad) rather than on multiple authorities (khabar mutawatir). These religious traditions are lies endorsed by conspiracies.

The Zumurrud points out that Muhammad's own presuppositions (wad) and system (qanun) show that religious traditions are not trustworthy. The Jews and Christians say that Jesus really died, but the Qu'ran contradicts them.

Ibn al-Rawandi also points out specific Muslim traditions, and tries to show that they are laughable. The tradition that the angels rallied round to help Muhammad is not logical, because it implies that the angels of Badr were weaklings, able to kill only seventy of the Prophet's enemies. And if the angels were willing to help Muhammad at Badr, where were they at Uhud, when their help was so badly needed?

The Zumurrud criticizes prayer, preoccupation with ritual purity, and the ceremonies of the hajj; throwing stones, circumambulating a house that cannot respond to prayers, running between stones that can neither help nor harm. It goes on to ask why Safa and Marwa are venerated, and what difference there is between them and any other hill in the vicinity of Mecca, for example the hill of Abu Qubays, and why the Kaaba is any better than any other house.

From the Encyclopaedia of Islam:

The plentiful extracts from the K. al-Zumurraudh provide a fairly clear indication of the most heterodox doctrine of Ibn al-Rawandi, that of which posterity has been least willing to forgive him: a biting criticism of prophecy in general and of the prophecy of Muhammad in particular; he maintains in addition that religious dogmas are not acceptable to reason and must, therefore, be rejected; the miracles attributed to the Prophets, persons who may reasonably be compared to sorcerers and magicians, are pure invention, and the greatest of the miracles in the eyes of orthodox Muslims, the Quran, gets no better treatment: it is neither a revealed book nor even an inimitable literary masterpiece. In order to cloak his thesis, which attacks the root of all types of religion, Ibn al-Rawandi used the fiction that they were uttered by Brahmans. His reputation as irreligious iconoclast spread in the 4th/10th century beyond the borders of Muslim literature.[33]

See also

References

  1. ^ Sarah Stroumsa, The Blinding Emerald: Ibn al-Rāwandī's Kitāb al-Zumurrud
  2. ^ a b Al-Zandaqa Wal Zanadiqa, by Mohammad Abd-El Hamid Al-Hamad , First edition 1999, Dar Al-Taliaa Al-Jadida, Syria (Arabic)
  3. ^ Mirzaay, Abas (Spring 2014). "Ibn Rawandi's Defense of Kufan Shi'ism". Islamic Theology Studies. 2.
  4. ^ Inati, Shams C (2000). Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. New York NY: Routledge. p. 377. ISBN 0-415-22364-4. ... Ibn ar-Rawandi wavered between a number of Islamic sects and then abandoned all of them in favour of atheism.
  5. ^ al-A'sam, A. (1975). History of Ibn Ar-Riwandi the Heretic. Beirut: dar al-afaq al-Jadida.
  6. ^ Groff, Peter (2007). Islamic Philosophy A-Z. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-0-7486-2089-0. A protean freethinker who experimented with Mu'tazilism and Shi'ism before finally embracing atheism, Ibn al-Rawandi was condemned by most Muslims as a dangerous heretic.
  7. ^ Stroumsa, Sarah (1999). Freethinkers of Medieval Islam: Ibn Al-Rāwandī, Abū Bakr Al-Rāzī, and Their Impact on Islamic Thought. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. ISBN 978-9004315471.
  8. ^ Grant, Edward (2007). A History of Natural Philosophy: From the Ancient World to the Nineteenth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 84–87. ISBN 9780511292101. Retrieved 8 March 2021. Early in his life, Ibn al-Rawandi was a Mutazilite scholar, who, like all Mutazilite scholars sought to apply Greek philosophy to explicate Islamic theology. After rejecting Mutazilism, he turned for a while to Shi'ism. At some point, however, and for reasons that are apparently unknown, al-Rawnadi became a free thinker and repudiated Islam and revealed religion.
  9. ^ Karabela, Mehmet (2014). Kalin, Ibrahim (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199812578. Abū al-Ḥusayn Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā Ibn al-Rāwandī(815–860 or 910), perhaps one of the most controversial figures in early Islamic history, is frequently called the "arch-heretic"...both Muslims and non-Muslims (especially Jews) wrote polemics against Ibn al-Rāwandī in which they acknowledged the serious threat his work posed not only to Islam, but also to Judaism and all Abrahamic religions.
  10. ^ Stroumsa, Sarah (1994). "The Blinding Emerald: Ibn Al Rawandi's Kitab Al-Zumurrud". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 114 (2): 163–185. doi:10.2307/603315. Retrieved 8 March 2021. Ibn al-Rawandi was indeed a heretic who denied the possibility of prophecy, and the K. al-Zumurrud was written in order to expound his heretical views
  11. ^ Inati, Shams. "Ibn ar-Rawandi". MuslimPhilosophy.com. Routledge. Retrieved 6 March 2021. A highly enigmatic and controversial figure in the history of Islamic thought, Ibn ar-Rawandi wavered between a number of Islamic sects and then abandoned all of them in favour of atheism. As an atheist, he used reason to destroy religious beliefs, especially those of Islam. He compared prophets to unnecessary magicians, God to a human being in terms of knowledge and emotion, and the Qur'an to an ordinary book. Contrary to Islamic belief, he advocated that the world is without a beginning and that heaven is nothing special.
  12. ^ Ibn al-Rawandi, by Mehmet Karabela, in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam, edited by Ibrahim Kalin, vol. 1, New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
  13. ^ Medieval Islamic Civilization By Josef W. Meri, Jere L. Bacharach
  14. ^ Min Tareekh Al-Ilhad Fi Al-Islam, From the History of Atheism in Islam by Abd-El Rahman Badawi pages: 87–206, Second edition 1991, Sinaa Lil Nasher Egypt (Arabic)
  15. ^ Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Genealogy to Iqbal Page 636
  16. ^ Groff, Peter (2007). Islamic Philosophy A-Z. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-0-7486-2089-0. A protean freethinker who experimented with Mu'tazilism and Shi'ism before finally embracing atheism, Ibn al-Rawandi was condemned by most Muslims as a dangerous heretic.
  17. ^ Grant, Edward (2007). A History of Natural Philosophy: From the Ancient World to the Nineteenth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 84–87. ISBN 9780511292101. Retrieved 8 March 2021. Early in his life, Ibn al-Rawandi was a Mutazilite scholar, who, like all Mutazilite scholars sought to apply Greek philosophy to explicate Islamic theology. After rejecting Mutazilism, he turned for a while to Shi'ism. At some point, however, and for reasons that are apparently unknown, al-Rawnadi became a free thinker and repudiated Islam and revealed religion.
  18. ^ Stroumsa, Sarah (2006). Meri, Josef W.; Bacharach, Jere L. (eds.). Medieval Islamic Civilization. He became estranged from his former colleagues, perhaps due to his association with his mentor, the Manichaean Abu 'Isa al-Warraq. From that point on Ibn al-Rawandi is depicted by most (though not all) of our sources as a heretic who maliciously scoffs at all religions, particularly Islam...He spared no religion, but his most severe criticism was directed against Islam.
  19. ^ Groff, Peter (2007). Islamic Philosophy A-Z. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-0-7486-2089-0. A protean freethinker who experimented with Mu'tazilism and Shi'ism before finally embracing atheism, Ibn al-Rawandi was condemned by most Muslims as a dangerous heretic.
  20. ^ Grant, Edward (2007). A History of Natural Philosophy: From the Ancient World to the Nineteenth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 84–87. ISBN 9780511292101. Retrieved 8 March 2021. Early in his life, Ibn al-Rawandi was a Mutazilite scholar, who, like all Mutazilite scholars sought to apply Greek philosophy to explicate Islamic theology. After rejecting Mutazilism, he turned for a while to Shi'ism. At some point, however, and for reasons that are apparently unknown, al-Rawnadi became a free thinker and repudiated Islam and revealed religion.
  21. ^ Inati, Shams C (2000). Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. New York NY: Routledge. p. 377. ISBN 0-415-22364-4. ... Ibn ar-Rawandi wavered between a number of Islamic sects and then abandoned all of them in favour of atheism.
  22. ^ al-A'sam, A. (1975). History of Ibn Ar-Riwandi the Heretic. Beirut: dar al-afaq al-Jadida.
  23. ^ Groff, Peter (2007). Islamic Philosophy A-Z. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-0-7486-2089-0. A protean freethinker who experimented with Mu'tazilism and Shi'ism before finally embracing atheism, Ibn al-Rawandi was condemned by most Muslims as a dangerous heretic.
  24. ^ Inati, Shams C (2000). Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. New York NY: Routledge. p. 377. ISBN 0-415-22364-4. ... Ibn ar-Rawandi wavered between a number of Islamic sects and then abandoned all of them in favour of atheism.
  25. ^ al-A'sam, A. (1975). History of Ibn Ar-Riwandi the Heretic. Beirut: dar al-afaq al-Jadida.
  26. ^ Groff, Peter (2007). Islamic Philosophy A-Z. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-0-7486-2089-0. A protean freethinker who experimented with Mu'tazilism and Shi'ism before finally embracing atheism, Ibn al-Rawandi was condemned by most Muslims as a dangerous heretic.
  27. ^ Stroumsa, Sarah (1999). Freethinkers of Medieval Islam: Ibn Al-Rāwandī, Abū Bakr Al-Rāzī, and Their Impact on Islamic Thought. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. ISBN 978-9004315471.
  28. ^ Groff, Peter (2007). Islamic Philosophy A-Z. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-0-7486-2089-0. Of the 114 books he composed only a few fragments remain, preserved through the refutations of subsequent authors. Of these, the most important are The Scandal of the Mu'tazilites (Fadihat al-mu'tazila), which attempts to refute the major Mu'tazilite theologians, The Refutation (al-Damigh), which attacks the Qur'an, and The Book of the Diamond (Kitab al-zumurrud), which offers up a scathing critique of prophecy.
  29. ^ Inati, Shams. "Ibn ar-Rawandi". MuslimPhilosophy.com. Routledge. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  30. ^ Groff, Peter (2007). Islamic Philosophy A-Z. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-0-7486-2089-0. In these works alone, he (1) rejects all religious dogmas as unacceptable to reason, (2) argues that prophets - Muhammad included - are like sorcerers and magicians, and that their miracles are entirely fictitious, (3) questions the necessity of prophecy and revelation if God is indeed all-powerful, (4) denies that the Qur'an is the revealed word of God and that it has any unique aesthetic value, (5) maintains that the God of the Quran is ultimately all-too-human and imperfect (i.e. lacking in knowledge and wisdom, easily angered, quick to punish, excessive, arbitrary, and unjust), (6) argues that the world is eternal and we are by no means compelled to posit a first divine cause, and (7) points out that Paradise as described in the Qur'an does not seem particularly desirable.
  31. ^ Calder, Norman (1994). "The Barāhima: Literary Construct and Historical Reality". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 57 (1): 40-51. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  32. ^ Stroumsa, Sarah (2006). Meri, Josef W.; Bacharach, Jere L. (eds.). Medieval Islamic Civilization. Although one can see this image as a distorted picture composed by his opponents (as suggested by Josef van Ess), the accumulated information provided by the texts suggests that the image had a firm base in reality, and that Ibn al-Rawandi had indeed out-stepped the boundaries of Islam.
  33. ^ On Ibn al-Rawandi, from the Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1971, Volume 3, E J Brill, Leiden, p 905
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