Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328), the famous Ḥanbalī theologian of Damascus, is widely regarded as one of the most studied and cited medieval Muslim theologians. The talk by Dr. Mehdi Berriah, Assistant Professor of Classical Arabic and Islamic Studies, Faculty of Religion and Theology of the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, presented parts of a recently published study analyzing aspects of Ibn Taymiyya’s prolific writings. The theologian’s body of work covers a wide range of subjects and demonstrates his vast scholarship based on profound knowledge of his sources. 

Even though Ibn Taymiyya has been the subject of much research in both the Arab world and Western scholarship, there are unexplored aspects of what can be called his source methodology, which was both efficient and complex. The lecture presented analytical perspectives and a preliminary analysis of this methodology. Dr. Berriah highlighted how Ibn Taymiyya advances his arguments, focusing on his way of reading and the selection and use of sources. 

The lecture was moderated by Dr. Gavin Picken, Professor of Islamic Studies, Coordinator of the MA in Contemporary Islamic Studies Program at CIS, while faculty and students used the opportunity to engage in critical thinking around key areas of modern Islamic scholarship.