Sa'id Foudah | |
|---|---|
سعيد فودة | |
 | |
| Personal life | |
| Nationality | Jordan,Palestine |
| Main interest(s) | 'Aqidah,Kalam,Logic |
| Notable work(s) | Al-Kashif al-Saghir 'An 'Aqa'id Ibn Taymiyya |
| Education | University of Jordan,Jordan University of Science and Technology,World Islamic Sciences and Education University |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Shafi'i |
| Tariqa | Shadhili |
| Creed | Ash'ari |
| Profession | Professor and investigator (muhaqqiq) |
| Muslim leader | |
| Teacher | Nuh al-Qudah |
Influenced by | |
Influenced | |
| Website | www |
Sa'id 'Abd al-Latif Foudah (Arabic:سعيد عبد اللطيف فودة) is a Palestinian-JordanianShafi'i-Ash'ari scholar ofIslamic theology (kalam),logic (mantiq),legal theory (usul al-fiqh), and the Chief Theology and Philosophy Adviser to theImam al-Razi Chair at theKing Hussein bin Talal Mosque inAmman, Jordan. He is best known for his criticism of theWahhabi movement,[1]Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328) and his followers.[2][3][4][5][6]
Sheikh Sa'id Foudah has had a significant influence in combatingSalafi (or Taymi) creed. This is despite the fact that he grew up in an environment where criticising someSalafi scholars, such asIbn Taymiyya orIbn al-Qayyim, would lead to severe condemnation from the wider scholarly community. His bookAl-Kashif al-Saghir sparked considerable controversy; however, it paved the way for others to openly critiqueSalafi beliefs.
He is also known for his refutations of the Sufi masterIbn Arabi[7] (in particular,wahdat al-wujud[8]) andAristotelian or Avicennian Philosophy.[9]
He was born in 1967 in the Jordanian town ofal-Karameh, but his family originates from the village ofBayt Dajan.[3][4][5][6]
He holdsbachelor's andmaster's degrees in'aqidah (Islamic creed) from theUniversity of Jordan, and aPhD from theWorld Islamic Sciences and Education University. He also has abachelor's degree inelectrical engineering from theJordan University of Science and Technology and is fluent inArabic,English, andItalian.[10][11][3][5][6]
He was trained in the sciences oftafsir,tajwid,tasawwuf, andilm al-kalam, under scholars throughout theMiddle East, includingNuh al-Qudah,'Ali Gum'a,Sa'id al-'Anbatawi, and Ahmad al-Jamal of theShadhiliyyatariqa in Jordan, among many others.[2][3][4][5][6]
In his commentary on theal-'Aqida al-Tahawiyya (the creed ofal-Tahawi), he criticizes the Wahhabi scholarIbn Baz (d. 1420/1999) for an erroneous critique of the “people ofkalam.” Foudah asserts:[12] “The sole intention of Ibn Baz... was to oppose the scholars of kalam, even if with falsehood.” Elsewhere in his commentary, Foudah asserts the vital importance of studying the articles of belief in Islam, stating:[12] “'Aqidah is sought after for itself, not only because it is a condition for the validity of actions. Even if an action is not obligatory, 'aqidah is still necessary, for it is the foundation of everything.”
In another treatise entitled “Critiquing A Critique,” Foudah refutesIbn Taymiyya's claims that the study of logic is forbidden in Islam and defendsImam al-Ghazali's statement thatlogic is the basis of all sciences. In yet another treatise by Foudah, he responds to the infamous speech on the subject of faith and reason given byPope Benedict XVI in September 2006. The Pope offended many in theMuslim world by repeating a quote by a medieval Christian scholar that referred to the teachings of the Islamic prophetMuhammad as “evil and inhumane” and being “spread by the sword.” Foudah devoted his treatise to the Pope's remarks regarding Islam's relationship with reason, stating:[12] “The Pope wants to say that the view of the Church in regards toAllah is in conformity with reason, but the view of Muslims with regards to this is contrary to reason! These are words which cause in us shock, laughter and bewilderment.”
According to Jeffry R. Halverson, the Pope's narrow characterization of Islam's conception of God reflects only the Islam of theAtharis, and not at all the theological doctrines of theAsh'aris andMaturidis. This point is not lost on Foudah, who laments the demise of theology and other rational sciences that once flourished in the Islamic world, stating:[12]
Such are the times that they dare say their (incorrect) view is (in keeping with) reason, and then claim that the Muslims contradict reason. By Allah, this shows the degree that the Muslims have deteriorated. This is a man of highest position in their (Catholic) group and he has dared utter something like this. If the people of Islam were grounded in the foundations of their knowledge, as were the previous scholars of Islam from themutakallimin (theologians) and usuliyin [scholars who devoted themselves to the study of the principles of Islamic jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh)], they would never have dared say such about Islam.
In another treatise entitled “Modern Salafism and its Effect on Muslim Disunity,” Foudah notes the detrimental effects that Salafi thought has had on the Muslim world. He also recounts a series of systematic refutations or polemics against Salafi beliefs, writing:[12]
Let us now take a moment to focus on Wahhabite thought, or Taymite thought (i.e. the followers of Ibn Taymiyya) as I sometimes like to call it. Their view-point can be summed up in the following: theSalaf were upon the true creed and their affair remained for a while. Afterwards their occurred a disconnection and the innovators from other sects became dominant, and that has continued unabated till today—barring the specific time periods in which certain callers to their doctrine appeared. The most important of these callers, according to the Wahhabis, are Ibn Taymiyya and his studentIbn Qayyim al-Jawziyya... [But what they mention to you] are disconnected and disparate individuals in separate times and places; and this, in my view, is one of the biggest proofs demonstrating the falsehood of their ideas, beliefs, and rulings in which they opposeAhl al-Sunna wa al-Jama'a [i.e., Sunni Islam].
His books and treatises are numerous, most of them in the science of'aqidah,kalam (Islamic scholastic theology),logic and in response tophilosophers andsecularists and to those who he considers asmubtadi'a (heretical innovators) such asIbn Taymiyya and his followers, particularly theWahhabi movement.[3]
He has authored and edited over eighty books and articles on almost every topic of Islamic systematic theology.[3][4] Among his notable publications are the following:[13][14]
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