al-Ja'd ibn Dirham | |
|---|---|
| الجعد بن درهم | |
| Born | |
| Died | c. 742 CE |
| Philosophical work | |
| Era | Islamic Golden Age |
| School | Mutazilite (formerly) |
| Main interests | Kalam · Philosophy |
| Notable ideas | Quranic createdness |
al-Ja'd ibn Dirham (Arabic:الجعد بن درهم) was an 8th-century Muslim theologian who promoted the idea ofQuranic createdness. He was also the personal tutor of the lastUmayyad caliph,Marwan II.
TheUmayyad princeMuhammad ibn Marwan appointed al-Ja'd ibn Dirham as the personal tutor for his son,Marwan II, who was the last of the Umayyad rulers (r. 744–750) until he was deposed by the invadingAbbasids.[1][2] Despite these relations, the Umayyad caliphHisham ibn 'Abd al-Malik still ordered the arrest of al-Ja'd due to his theology, which was considered heretical by the scholars around him.[1][2]
al-Ja'd ibn Dirham was formerly aMutazilite. However, he would later develop a theology which stated that the divine attributes of God should be merely negated, including the divine speech.[1][2][3] Another aspect of his theology included the belief inQuranic createdness that the Qur'an is a created thing.[1][2] In regards to theProphets of Islam and biblical figures, al-Ja'd denied that God spoke toMoses or tookAbraham as a friend.[3]
This theology was a basis for the ideas of theJahmi school, founded byJahm ibn Safwan, a follower of al-Ja'd ibn Dirham.[1][2][3]
One of the early critics of his theology was theTabi'in and historianWahb ibn Munabbih, who differed with him on the views of the divine attributes.[3] According toIbn Kathir, al-Ja'd was influenced by the ideas ofBayan ibn Sam'an al-Tamimi, an earlier theologian who believed in Quranic createdness as well.[3]
An arrest warrant was made for al-Ja'd ibn Dirham, and he was apprehended inKufa in the year 742.[3][4] On the day ofEid al-Adha, he was publicly executed via beheading by the governor ofIraq,Khalid al-Qasri. Before the execution, al-Qasri is reported to have said:
On this day, I will sacrifice al-Ja'd ibn Dirham; for he said that Allah did not take Ibrahim as a friend, nor did He address Moses directly; exalted is Allah and free is He from what al-Ja'd had said.