The islamic influence on Saadia Gaon’s method in defending Rabbinic Judaism
Saadia Al-Fayyumi was one of the medieval scholars of Jewish law who lived in Muslim societies. He was the first in Iraq to defend Rabbinic Judaism against the opponents and skeptics of its religious heritage and he was influenced in his defense by Islamic thought. Previous studies discussed Saa...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2024
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/24148/1/Islamiyyat_46_1_2.pdf http://journalarticle.ukm.my/24148/ https://ejournal.ukm.my/islamiyyat/issue/view/1700 |
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| Summary: | Saadia Al-Fayyumi was one of the medieval scholars of Jewish law who lived in Muslim societies. He was the first in
Iraq to defend Rabbinic Judaism against the opponents and skeptics of its religious heritage and he was influenced in
his defense by Islamic thought. Previous studies discussed Saadia’s defense of the Written and Oral law and illustrated
Saadia’s polemical writings against the Karaites. The current paper discusses the influence of Islam on Saadia’s method
in defending Rabbinic Judaism. Also, this essay illustrates the influence of Islamic thought on Saadia’s arguments to
pave the way for the Rabbis to use reason like the Mu’tazilah to defend their beliefs and provided them with arguments
and proofs. Clearly, Islamic thought was a principle for Saadia to establish the foundations of faith. He laid down the
principles of faith just as the Mu’tazilah and was influenced by Mu’tazilah’s thoughts, Muslim jurists, Islamic theological
doctrines, and their various ideas related to religious matters. Also, Saadia agreed with the Islamic theological sects
in using logical evidences and religious texts as defensive tools to defend his beliefs. This Islamic influence on Jewish
thought was a factor in its development, especially in light of the Arab-Islamic civilization in the medieval ages between
10th and the 15th centuries CE. |
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