The Dearest Desire: Philosophy and Islam in

<i>The Book of Ibn Tūmart</i>

Watling, Daniel E.

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ABSTRACT (ENGLISH)
This dissertation examines the application of Islamic theology (kalm) and philosophy to the elaboration of
Almohadism, a new form of Islam founded in North Africa by Muammad Ibn Tmart (ca. 1080–1130). There has
been a consistent interest in Ibn Tmart’s role as the progenitor of the Almohad Caliphate (1121–1269) and his
claim to be the infallible imm and awaited mahd, a messianic figure within Islam. However, most treatments of Ibn
Tmart’s religious thought have relied on historical accounts rather than the extant body of writings attributed to
him, The Book of Ibn Tmart (BIT). Using manuscript evidence and an array of Arabic and Latin sources, I confront
questions about the authenticity of this compilation of Ibn Tmart’s writings. I conclude that Ibn Tmart authored all
texts in BIT (except the few explicitly attributed to other hands) and offer a new arrangement of the text that
reconciles discrepancies between the two extant manuscripts. I propose a new reading of the text based on the
structure imparted to the compilation by its compiler. BIT begins with an analysis of the epistemological principles
of the Islamic sciences—especially jurisprudence and theology. Ibn Tmart’s epistemology is remarkable for its
deep commitment to rationalism in speculative theology and the interpretation of the Qur’n and adth. On these
principles, it proceeds to an exposition of divine unity (tawd), a theory of religious leadership (imma), and a
program of missionary activity and militant jihd under the belief that Ibn Tmart possesses exclusive authority to
adjudicate among and teach all Muslims. Throughout this dissertation, I aim to contextualize Ibn Tmart’s thought
within contemporary intellectual developments, particularly the philosophy of Ibn Sn (d. 1037) and his Ash‘ar
reception by al-Juwayn, al-Ghazl, and others. I argue that, although Ibn Tmart emerged from a Sunn background, he
adopted minoritarian views within Sunnism and applied them in a radical way. These views include the idea that
one’s salvation is predicated on knowledge of (rather than mere belief in) God and the rejection of the Sunn
principle of infallibilism in legal reasoning (ijtihd). These positions, along with Ibn Tmart’s claim to be the awaited
mahd, put the Almohad movement into conflict with North African Sunnism. The Almohads’ struggle to impose a
rationalist vision of Islam on twelfth-century Morocco culminated in several bloody purges of those who opposed
them in favor of a traditionalist form of Islam. Within Ibn Tmart’s writings, we see a push toward popular
enlightenment, an outgrowth of his belief that salvation requires knowledge. I conclude the dissertation with a
discussion of Almohadism’s decline and its influence on intellectual life in Morocco and al-Andalus. Almohad
Islam, likely due to its radicalism, failed to maintain its viability as a new form of Islam separate from Sunnism
because it failed to win enough converts among local scholars to effect a lasting demographic shift. However, Ibn
Tmart’s mahdism and emphasis on popular enlightenment provoked skepticism in the following centuries toward
the role of religious rationalism within Islamic politics.

DETAILS

Subject: Islamic studies; Philosophy; Medieval history; 12th century; History; Principles;
Epistemology; Biographies; Politics; Books; Manuscripts; Dissertations &theses;
Jurisprudence; Salvation; Religion; Theology; Morality; Rationalism; Islamic law;
Muslims; Knowledge; God; Authorship; Islamism; Literature reviews; Spirituality;
Philosophers

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Classification: 0512: Islamic Studies; 0422: Philosophy; 0581: Medieval history; 0393:
Epistemology; 0647: Spirituality; 0304: Biographies; 0469: Theology; 0578: History;
0318: Religion

Identifier / keyword: al-Andalus; Almohads; Ibn Tmart, Muammad; Islamic law; Islamic theology; Morocco

Number of pages: 522

Publication year: 2021

Degree date: 2021

School code: 0330

Source: DAI-A 82/12(E), Dissertation Abstracts International

Place of publication: Ann Arbor

Country of publication: United States

ISBN: 9798516957406

Advisor: Nirenberg, David

Committee member: Robinson, James T.; Casewit, Yousef

University/institution: The University of Chicago

Department: Social Thought

University location: United States -- Illinois

Degree: Ph.D.

Source type: Dissertation or Thesis

Language: English

Document type: Dissertation/Thesis

Dissertation/thesis number: 28498189

ProQuest document ID: 2558141447

Document URL: https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/dearest-desire-philosophy-islam-i-

book-ibn-tmart/docview/2558141447/se-2?accountid=50217

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