Muhammad ibn Karram | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | 190 H/ 806 CE |
| Died | 255 H/ 868 CE |
| Era | Early Islamic (Abbasid Era) |
| Main interest(s) | Aqeedah,Hadith |
| Notable idea(s) | Iman-Iqrar Equivalence |
| Notable work(s) | Kitab 'Azab al-Qabr,Kitab al-Tawhid |
| Occupation | Scholar of Islam |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Karramiyya[1][Note 1] |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Muslim leader | |
Influenced by | |
Influenced | |
Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Karramal-Sijistani (Arabic:أبو عبد الله محمد بن كَرَّام السجستاني) was anascetic,hellfire preacher,hadith narrator, and a literalisttheologian who founded theKarramiyya sect. His views were consideredheretical, schismatic, and abominable by the majority ofSunni scholars. He was accused of holding the doctrine ofanthropomorphism, and that his chief theological doctrine was that God is a substance (jawhar) and that he had a body (jism); for which reason his followers were commonly called the "Mujassima" (corporealists) and "Mushabbiha" (anthropomorphists).[6][7][8][9][10][Note 2]
Some sources reported that he was ofArab descent,[13] and his lineage belongs to the BaniNizar, or Bani Turab (the people or sons of Turab),[14] and according to some, to the Arab tribe of theBanu Nadhir.[15] It has been said thatIbn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328) took inspiration from him.[16][17]: 99
His name was Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Karram ibn 'Arraf (or 'Iraq) ibn Khuraya (or Khizana or Hizaba) ibn al-Bara'al-Sijistanial-Nisapuri.[18][19]
He was born inZaranj inSijistan, in around 190/806.[20] He traveled toKhurasan and studied with Ahmad b. Harb, Ibrahim b. Yusuf, 'Ali b. Hujr inMarw, and 'Abd Allah b. Malik inHerat. Then he moved toMecca and stayed there five years. Then he returned back to his home country Sijistan, and went toNisapur and studied withAhmed Bin Harb[21] before the local governorTahir b. 'Abd Allah (230–48/844–62) expelled him, because his teachings caused unrest and strife within society. Then he went to theLevant and returned toNisapur to preach to the masses.[22] His preaching attracted large crowds. In his speeches, he was opposed and attacked both Sunni andShi'a theology. For this reason, the Tahirid governorMuhammad b. Tahir b. 'Abd Allah jailed him for eight years. After his release from the jail in 251/865, he traveled toJerusalem.[23][24]
Ibn Kathir inal-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya (The Beginning and the End) andMuhammad ibn Ahmad al-Maqdisi (c. 945–991) inAhsan al-Taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim (The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions), both of them confirmed that Ibn Karram preached his controversial views while sitting near the "column of the cradle ofJesus, where many people used to meet him."[24][25] Due to his views aboutiman (belief), his books were burned and he was expelled from Jerusalem by the governor toRamla.[13]
There are several books attributed to Ibn Karram, such asKitab al-Tawhid (Book of the Unification), andKitab 'Azab al-Qabr (Book of the Torment of the Grave), but none of them remain today. However, his beliefs are mentioned in a number oftabaqat works (biographical dictionaries) andheresiographical works, includingMaqalat al-Islamiyyin (The Ideas of the Muslims) byAbu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (d. 324/936),Al-Farq bayn al-Firaq (The Difference between the Sects) by'Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi (d. 429/1037),al-Tabsir fi al-Din by Abu al-Muzaffar al-Isfarayini (d. 471/1078), Kitabal-Milal wa al-Nihal (The Book of Religions and Creeds) byAbu al-Fath al-Shahristani (d. 548/1153), andI'tiqadat Firaq al-Muslimin wa al-Mushrikin byFakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 606/1210).[13]
According to heresiographical works, Ibn Karram is considered one of theMurji'a who held thatiman (faith or belief) to be only acknowledgment with the tongue, without the need for recognition by the heart, and confirmation by acts.[13]
He used to say: "Allah is a body unlike bodies" and "Allah is firmly seated on the throne and He is in person on the upper side of it." He and his adherents accepted the materialistic pictures of God found in theQur'an and tried to understand them in human terms. The followers of Ibn Karram were unsure "whether Allah is as big as his throne, whether it is equal to his breadth."[26]'Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi gave an exhaustive description of their doctrines inal-Farq bayn al-Firaq.[27][28]
In his book, which is entitled 'Azab al-Qabr (The Punishment of the Grave), he described God as He is high above, localized on the Throne, and that God touches His Throne and that the Throne is a place for Him, and that He is sitting on it. He wrote also that God is a Unit of essence and a Unit of substance, had a body with flesh, blood, and limbs, and had direction and so could move from one point to another. He affirmed the beatific vision (seeing God in the hereafter) without securing the doctrine against its potential spatial implications.[29][Note 3]
Although he claimed to be a follower ofAbu Hanifa, his theological views were criticized by theHanafis, such asAbu Bakr al-Samarqandi (d. 268/881–2),al-Hakim al-Samarqandi (d. 342/953),Abu al-Yusr al-Bazdawi (d. 482/1089),Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi (d. 508/1114), andal-Saffar al-Bukhari (d. 534/1139).[30]
He was accused of being a fabricator ofHadith by several scholars, includingIbn Hibban (d. 354/ 965),al-Dhahabi (d. 748/1348),Ibn Kathir (d. 774/1373), andIbn Hajar al-'Asqalani (d. 852/1449), all of them confirmed that the reporting of Ibn Karram is unreliable, because he is afabricator.[31][8][24][9]
Salah al-Din al-Safadi (d. 764/1363) in his work, entitled:Al-Wafi bi al-Wafayat (Arabic:الوافي بالوفيات,lit. 'The Complement to the Deaths'), described him as a deviant and misguided anthropomorphist, and he said that Ibn Karram was praised byIbn Khuzayma (d. 311/923) and met him more than once.[32]
Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328) in his bookSharh al-'Aqida al-Asfahaniyya (Arabic:شرح العقيدة الأصفهانية) defended him, as he stated in his own words:[2][3]
Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Karram was also raised up inSijistan and its aspects, supporting the doctrine ofAhl al-Sunna wa al-Jama'a (the Sunnis), the affirmers of God's attributes, theQadr (predestination, fate, or the divine destiny) and love of theSahaba (the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad) and so on, and countering/responding to theJahmiyya, theMu'tazila, theRafida (refusers, rejectionists or defectors; often used as a derogatory term for Shi'ites) and others, and agreed with them on the basis of their articles in which they said what they said, and disagreed with them in their requirements, asIbn Kullab andal-Ash'ari disagreed with them, but those are affiliated with theSunna andHadith, while Ibn Karram is affiliated with the doctrine of theAhl al-Ra'y (people of reasoned opinion, often referring to the Hanafis).
وقام أيضاً أبو عبد الله محمد بن كَرَّام بسجستان ونواحيها ينصر مذهب أهل السنة والجماعة، والمثبتة للصفات والقدر وحب الصحابة وغير ذلك، ويرد على الجهمية والمعتزلة والرافضة وغيرهم، ويوافقهم على أصول مقالاتهم التي بها قالوا ما قالوا، ويخالفهم في لوازمها، كما خالفهم ابن كلاب والأشعري، لكن هؤلاء منتسبون إلى السنة والحديث، وابن كرام منتسب إلى مذهب أهل الرأي
He died in Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) inSafar in the year 255 AH/869 CE, and was buried at Bab Ariha (Gate ofJericho).[19]
وقام أيضاً أبو عبد الله محمد بن كرام بسجستان ونواحيها ينصر مذهب أهل السنة والجماعة، والمثبتة للصفات والقدر وحب الصحابة وغير ذلك، ويرد على الجهمية والمعتزلة والرافضة وغيرهم، ويوافقهم على أصول مقالاتهم التي بها قالوا ما قالوا، ويخالفهم في لوازمها، كما خالفهم ابن كلاب والأشعري، لكن هؤلاء منتسبون إلى السنة والحديث، وابن كرام منتسب إلى مذهب أهل الرأي
Among later Muslim thinkers Ebn Taymiya (d. 728/1328) stands out as a sympathetic, if critical, student of Karrāmi theology, and he took it upon himself to write an extensive commentary on Faḵr-al-Din Rāzi's anti-Karrāmi work Asās al-taqdis, in which he defended the traditionist and Karrāmi positions on the key points of dispute
