Farid Suleiman - Böcker

This study systematically examines the methodological foundations of the doctrine of attributes espoused by the influential Islamic scholar Ibn Taymiyya (died 728 AH/1328 CE). It integrates the perspective he developed in multiple single tractates into an overall view and examines its connections in intellectual history. Thus, the volume makes an important contribution to research on the history of Islamic theology. The volume was awarded the Dissertation Prize of the Academy for Islam in Research and Society (AIWG) 2019 as well as the Classical Islamic World Book Prize 2019.

The IU series (Islamkundliche Untersuchungen) was founded in 1969 by the Klaus Schwarz Verlag. Since then, it has become one of the most important venues for publications in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. Its more than 350 volumes cover a broad range from early Islamic to contemporary topics and address a wide range of topics from the fields of history, culture, and social studies. With a regional scope that includes Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority societies of West Asia and North Africa as well as in neighboring regions and contexts of migration, the IU series promotes research that draws on primary source material from these regions and critically engages with knowledge production in the field.The series features monographs, edited volumes, scholarly editions of and translations from source languages, collection catalogues and is open for other formats. We welcome contributions from multiple disciplines (Islamic Theology, History and Philology, Political and Social Sciences, Anthropology, Religious Studies, etc.), including first books, e.g., revised dissertations or habilitations. We publish in English, German, French, and occasionally other languages.For submissions, please contact the Acquisitions Editor Torsten Wollina (torsten.wollina@degruyterbrill.com).

Engendering an intimate and deep relationship with God is at the heart of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This relationship manifests, among other things, in worshipping Him with sincerity, talking to (and about) Him, and being conscious of Him in every moment of life. For believers, God himself plays also an active role in pursuing this relationship by, for example, answering prayers and making the believer know and feel His uninterrupted presence. Many would consider this as common knowledge about the religions mentioned above. However, only few are aware that the meaning of the above differs significantly based on how one thinks that religious language works. Rather, it is taken for granted that the word ‘God’ refers to a metaphysical being with personal traits and plays a similar role in structure as words in empirical language. This has several implications such as the following: God can be talked about in an abstract and theoretical manner; His existence can be subject to inquiry like that of any other being such as planets or unicorns; and calling God good, while creation is obviously full of evil, is a proposition that needs rational justification. The famous 20th century thinker Ludwig Wittgenstein has famously stated that his goal in philosophy essentially amounts to "showing that things which look the same are really different". By his insistence to pay close attention to the grammar of a word – that is its use in language – he has opened up new perspectives on (not only religious) language that challenges the prevalent view outlined above. The goal of this volume is to pick up on Wittgenstein’s insights about language and religion and to bring them in fruitful relation to the three mentioned religious traditions respectively in an attempt to reassess the grammar of the word ‘God’.