Aaron Spevack – författare

Considers the work of nineteenth-century theologian Ibrahim al-Bajuri and contests the notion of intellectual decline in Islamic thought from the thirteenth through nineteenth centuries.This is a rare study of a late premodern Islamic thinker, Ibrahim al- Bājūrī, a nineteenth-century scholar and rector of Cairo's al-Azhar University. Aaron Spevack explores al- Bājūrī's legal, theological, and mystical thought, highlighting its originality and vibrancy in relation to the millennium of scholarship that preceded and informed it, and also detailing its continuing legacy. The book makes a case for the normativity of the Gabrielian Paradigm, the study of law, rational theology, and Sufism, in the person of al- Bājūrī. Soon after his death in 1860, this typical pattern of scholarship would face significant challenges from modernists, reformers, and fundamentalists. Spevack challenges beliefs that rational theology, syllogistic logic, and Sufism were not part of the predominant conception of orthodox scholarship and shows this scholarly archetype has not disappeared as an ideal. In addition, the book contests prevailing beliefs in academic and Muslim circles about intellectual decline from the thirteenth through nineteenth centuries.

Many consider Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali the all-time greatest scholar of Islam. One of the great legal scholars of his time (1058-1111), he was, also, one of the foremost scholars of theology, philosophy and Sufism. In the realm of Sufism, his writings on the interrelation of law, theology and mysticism were central in establishing Sufism as a core dimension of Orthodox Islamic practice. Muslim communities all across the world today still base much of their practice of Islam on Ghazali's writings. Forty Foundations of the Religion is Ghazali's own summary of his magnum opus, The Revival of Religious Knowledge, which he described as the 'very essence of the knowledge of the Qur'an'. The Foundations are a brief and powerful summary of Islamic faith, worship, law and spirituality.This is the first publication of significant portions of the Foundations in English. Original translations of selected highlights are accompanied by insightful commentary that makes the core message of this great spiritual master relevant to anyone seeking a balanced understanding of Islam. This volume will ,also, attract those who are interested in Eastern spirituality, Sufism and interfaith dialogue. Foundations offers a concise and affordable alternative to the extensive (and expensive) translations of the original Revival of Religious Knowledge.

The Logic of al-Fanārī is a comprehensive study and annotated translation of al-Fanārī’s famous commentary on the Īsāghūjī, a foundational work in the Ottoman seminary tradition. The book includes a ‘plain-English’ representation of al-Fanari’s commentary enhanced by the inclusion of helpful explanations drawn from various glosses of the Fawā̛ id.In this comprehensive study, Aaron Spevack delves into the 15th-century logic text by Shams al-Din al-Fanari (d. 1431). Rather than offering a standard annotated translation alone, Spevack also provides an in-depth analysis of each chapter, enriched with references to multiple super-commentaries and practical examples. Drawing from years of study under scholars trained in the Ottoman tradition along with personal research, he highlights the text's significance in the Islamic logic tradition and its philosophical depth. More than just a guide to logical reasoning, al-Fanari's work embeds a number of philosophical and metaphysical inquiries that set the Islamic intellectual tradition apart from its modern counterparts. This work offers both a practical and philosophical framework, showing why a deep understanding of classical logic is vital for contemporary discourse.