Ibn Taymiyyah and his fatwas on forbidden (haram) and permissible (halal) issues

Abstract

Recently, the study of the legacy of a medieval religious scholar Ibn Taymiyyah, who lived in Syria at the turn of 14th century, has become particularly relevant due to the growing activity of various radical groups. Notably, some parts of his teachings became the foundation of the ideology of various modern extremist sects such as Wahhabism. However, his answers to religious questions regarding the forbidden (haram) and the permitted (halal) remain understudied. Ibn Taymiyyah's ideas contradicts the unanimous conclusion of Islamic theologians on more than 60 issues. His opinion on certain issues provoked lively discussions to the point of even forbidding him to make conclusions on certain religious issues. In addition, his belonging to the Hanbali madhhab in Islam is questionable. Another problem of the study is its contradiction to the traditional Islamic concept of God. The main purpose of the study is to investigate the ideas of Ibn Taymiyyah on some issues of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), to compare his views with the opinions of Islamic theologians and to define erroneous ideas about jurisprudence. In this study, the main approach was to study the works of Ibn Taymiyyah and compare them with the works of Islamic theologians, representatives of different madhhabs. It was found that a certain number of religious and legal opinions of this religious scholar in matters of halal and haram contradict the legal norms of the vast majority of Muslims. This study proves that the teachings of Ibn Taymiyyah contradict the Islamic concept of God and religious and legal practice

Concepts of what is allowed and forbidden in Islam through the analysis of Ibn Taymiyyah’s fatwa

“…Ibn Taymiyyah was a prominent Islamic thinker, legal scholar and religious figure, who lived and worked during the founding of the Mamluk Empire in Syria, Egypt and Palestine in the 13th-14th centuries (Maevskaya et al, 2021). This crisis period in the history of Islam was marked by substantial changes in the social, political and cultural life of Muslim countries.…”

“…In his book Majmoo' Al-Fatawa, he argues that anyone who insists on following a particular imam's opinion can be punished if they do not change their views and repent. These findings are aimed not only at Muslims but also at representatives of other religions (Maevskaya et al, 2021). He believes that Wahhabis, who use his teachings as the MAEVSKAYA, Lyudmila B.; AGA, Khaisam Muhammad basis of their doctrine, should be punished.…”

“…In Majmoo' Al-Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah condemns unbelief, which manifests itself in non-compliance with the basic principles of Islam. However, it is worth noting that his fatwas do not contribute to the development of interfaith dialogue, as he offers a number of religious ideas directed against Alawites, Druze, Shiites, Mu'tazilites, Jahmites and Christians (Maevskaya et al, 2021).…”

“…One of Ibn Taymiyyah's most discussed and controversial religious conclusions yyah is his view on the issue of triple divorce, which he discusses in volume 33 of Majmoo' Al-Fatawa (Maevskaya et al, 2021). The triple divorce has long been a subject of debate in Islamic jurisprudence, and Ibn Taymiyyah's religious decision on the matter led to his…”

“…B. Maevskaya and K. M. Aga (2021) argued that the popularization of Ibn Taymiyyah's teachings does not contribute to the establishment of interreligious dialogue and the harmonization of interfaith relations. In the study, she noted that some Taymiyyah's religious and legal views regarding halal and haram do not coincide with the most Muslims' legal norms.…”