Ibn Taymiyya's Thought

A fresh reading of medieval thinker Ibn Taymiyya, offering pathbreaking insight into his lasting relevance in debates on Islam, authority, and religious thought.

Ibn Taymiyya’s Thought: Corpus, Reception, and Legacy explores the work, influence, and lasting impact of one of the most controversial and prolific figures in Islamic intellectual history: Taqī l-Dīn Aḥmad Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328). Adopting a clear and rigorous approach, this book traces the key strands of Ibn Taymiyya’s thought and shows how his writings have been interpreted, transformed, challenged, and reappropriated over time. It sheds light on the tensions between tradition and renewal, and between religious authority and critical inquiry. Beyond Taymiyyan thought itself, the book offers a deeper understanding of contemporary debates about Islam by situating them within a long and complex intellectual history. Thus, it will appeal both to readers eager to grasp the complex thought of one of medieval Islam’s most controversial scholars and to those interested in the ongoing relevance of his ideas in modern intellectual and religious debates across the Muslim world. This volume makes a vital contribution to the study of Ibn Taymiyya by engaging closely with his texts, and considering them in their original historical context as well as in the diverse settings in which they have been reread and reappropriated, whether directly or indirectly.

Mehdi Berriah is a researcher in Islamic Studies and Islamic History at the French Institute for the Near East (Ifpo). His work focuses on Muslim thought, theology, jihad, Ibn Taymiyya, and the intellectual, political, military, and social history of the Islamic world.
Arjan Post is Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at KU Leuven. His fields of interest include Sufism, kalām, theology, and the intellectual history of the Hanbali school, specifically during the Mamluk period.