OBJECTIVES OF THE ISLAMIC THEOLOGY IN THE ṢŪFĪ THOUGHT: IBN ʻAṬĀʼ ALLĀH AS A CASE STUDY

Abstract

Maqāṣid al-Sharīʻah, as a scholarly discipline, occupies currently a significant and growing position in the contemporary Islamic research. However, the issue of Maqāṣid al-ʻAqīdah (objectives of faith) has not yet received the same attention. The present Study attempts to shed light on the concept of Maqāṣid al-ʻAqīdah to emphasize that it is an integral part of the concept of Maqāṣid al-Sharīʻah in the broadest sense of the word “Sharīʻah”, and that this presence has existed in Islamic scholarly heritage, especially among the great Ṣūfīs such as Imam al-Ghazālī and Sheikh Ibn ʻAṭāʼ Allāh al-Sakandarī. The Study supposes that such presence of the objectives of belief in Ṣūfī thought stemmed from the Ṣūfīs' interest in the idea of the asrār (spiritual secrets) of Sharīʻah and its rulings without restriction themselves to the literal meanings only. To this end, the study addressed Ibn ʻAṭāʼ Allāh al-Sakandarī’s “Ḥikam” (Aphorisms) to understand how he dealt with these objectives within a theological framework that sought to establish a central issue, namely, the realization of the meaning of monotheism and the consolidation of the concept of servitude to Allah, the Almighty. By focusing on the doctrine of reliance upon Allah and the spiritual station (Maqām) of affliction, we will see that this central issue ultimately represents the basis of doctrinal commands in Islam. Thus, the research concludes that Sufism was the most prominent framework that embraced the idea of the objectives of Creed through its interest in spiritual rulings, secrets, and goals, which represents a gate to the renewal of the science of theology and creed in light of its religious and humanistic objectives.