Nature, Man, and God in Medieval Islam: 'Abd Allah Baydawi's Text, Tawali' Al-Anwar Min Matali' Al-Anzar, Along with Mahmud Isfahani's Commentary, Matali' Al-Anzar Sharh Tawali' Al-Anwar, 2 vols.

Omar, Irfan A.

NATURE, MAN, AND GOD IN MEDIEVAL ISLAM: 'ABD ALLAH BAYDAWI'S TEXT, TAWALI' AL-ANWAR MIN MATALI' AL-ANZAR, ALONG WITH MAHMUD ISFAHANI'S COMMENTARY, MATALI' AL-ANZAR SHARH TAWALI' AL-ANWAR. 2 vols. Edited and translated by Edwin E. Calverley and James W. Pollock. Leiden: Brill, 2002. Pp. xlvi, 724; xvi, 460. $317.

This work is a translation from Arabic of an important historical elucidation of medieval Islamic theology and philosophy that would be equally useful for medievalists, scholars of Islam, and those interested in the study of comparative religions within Muslim scholarship of the 13th and the 14th centuries. The original work by 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar al-Baydawi (d. 1316 C.E.), Tawali' al-Anwar min Matali' al-Anzar, was expanded on by Mahmud ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Isfahani (d. 1348 C.E.), who wrote a commentary (sharh.) entitled Matali' al-Anzar Sharh. Tawali' al-Anwar. The translators provide the non-Arabic reader for the first time access to a work that has been used in Islamic seminaries across the Muslim world for centuries. The work covers some of the most basic issues in Muslim theology, stressing the intersection of "rational" (philosophical) and "traditional" (religious) streams of thought. The translators' aim is to present a "summary statement" of the classical Muslim intellectual heritage and civilization, highlighting the tensions that existed between the two streams (xxv).

B. wrote the Tawali' towards the end of his scholarly career. His work emphasizes 'Asharite (Muslim orthodox) theology and seeks to critique the interpretations of the rationalists as well as the traditionalists regarding such issues as the knowledge of God, the essence and attributes of God, and divine providence. B. is influenced by some of the well-known giants in Muslim philosophy and theology, Ibn Sina and Fakhr al-Din Razi (xxiv); at the same time he draws significantly on al-Ghazali's critique of absolute rationalism. B. seems to lean towards the rationalist orientation, although he does not endorse the rationalist school as the best approach. Furthermore, it seems that the commentator, Isfahani, harboring Aristotelian inclinations, offers a rationalistic interpretation of some passages in B.'s text that were meant to be understood in religious terms.

Isfahani, whose father had studied with B., was commissioned by the Mamluk ruler, al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad, to edit and write a commentary on the text as a "service" to readers of religious and scholarly texts who would benefit from a more reader-friendly style than B.'s (xliii). Both authors were Persian, Sunni theologians who, although a generation apart, lived in an age when the region was experiencing a rise in Shi'a influence and power (xxxvii). The Tawali' became a very influential work and inspired a host of other authors to produce writings that sought to consolidate earlier ideas into single volumes. Such works were included in the curriculum of Islamic seminaries where students would be exposed to a range of arguments from previous scholarship on theological issues.

B.'s work includes an introduction to "logical reasoning" and epistemology, in which he explains the rules of logical deduction to help the reader see their application to the subject matter--the physical world, universals, accidents, and substances. Book I covers ontology and natural philosophy. Books II and III (volume 2 of the translation) include discussions of customary topics in Islamic theology dealing with God, prophecy, the Imamate, and the "Last Day" (yawm al-qiyamah). B.'s stress on the need for prophets is indicative of his views against absolute reliance on reason and in favor of revelation as an important source of knowledge.

The work has been used as a text for centuries because of its breadth and depth in providing comparisons between Islamic and other religions' positions on matters of truth and guidance in the world. It gave access to material from a variety of sources on a range of issues interesting to theologians and philosophers of the time. What is remarkable about this 13thcentury work is that it involves arguments from previous works that include discussion of traditions from both within and without the Abrahamic family of religions. For example, B. draws on his knowledge of Buddhist philosophy and also discusses the Hindu worldview, comparing it to the (in his view, superior) prophetic model found in Islam.

The present translation began with that of Edwin E. Calverley, a scholar and professor of Islamics at the Hartford Theological Seminary (renamed Hartford Seminary in 1981), who possessed several copies of the text including a "lithograph edition of 1887" and a Cairo print edition of 1902. Calverley completed a draft translation in 1962 that required considerable revision. Since he was unable to continue the work due to failing health, his student Elmer Douglas took on the project, but his own poor health led him in 1975 to pass on the project to James W. Pollock who revised the translation and edited the entire opus herewith published.

The introduction, while situating the translation within the larger intellectual landscape of the time, includes helpful notes explicating such issues as the presence of various manuscripts, the history of the translation efforts, and extensive biographical details on B. and Isfahani. The translation itself is filled with notes that clarify difficult terms for the non-Arabic reader. The glossary of technical terms included at the end is especially helpful in clarifying B.'s dense philosophical language. Also included is an updated bibliography of works on Islamic theology and philosophy. An index includes the listing of scriptural quotations from the Qur'an and the hadith, cited by B. and Isfahani.

These are primary texts in Islamic theology. Readers are indebted to the translators and editor as well as to the publisher for this valuable contribution.

IRFAN A. OMAR

Marquette University, Milwaukee