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Int. J. Middle East Stud. 34 (2002).441-463. Printed in the United States of AmericaDOl: 1O.1017.S0020743802003021

Wesley Williams

ASPECTS OF THE CREED OF IMAM AHMAD IBN

HANBAL: A STUDY OF ANTHROPOMORPHISM

IN EARLY ISLAMIC DISCOURSE

Today, the religion of Islam is most distinctly characterized by the emphasis it places

on the transcendence of God.

1

God's otherness (mukhalafa), it is said, is presupposedin Islamic thinking from the Qur'an. A review of the history of dogmatic development

in Islam reveals, however, that during the formative period-that is, the period to

about 9503-divine transcendence was only one alternative among several models

attempting to explain God's unity. Indeed, it coexisted alongside its antithesis, "assimi

lation" (tashbrh), or as we term it, anthropomorphism.4Muslim and Western scholars

agree that, although the anthropomorphist model certainly existed-the various here

siographies attest to i t - i t existed only on the margins of Islam, in the extravagant

fancies of a few deviant doctors.5 Thus, anthropomorphist ideas were relevant only

marginally, if at all, to Islam's attempt at theological self-definition. Such, at least, is

the current scholarly consensus. But how accurate is this reading of Islam's theologi

cal history?Anthropomorphic conceptions of God, particularly as they appear in scripture, have

perplexed and perturbed religious thinkers of all eras.6Although anthropomorphism

became self-evident in the Christian doctrine of incarnation, the histories of Judaism

and Islam are alike in that both present such conceptions as the source of great theo

logical controversy and strife.7Contemplative Jews, in many cases influenced by Hel

lenistic ideas, thought it appropriate to find figurative meanings to the biblical pas

sages implying divine corporeality, meanings that were more palatable to their

understanding of God's holiness.RThis trend was particularly strong in Egypt where

the Greek translation of the Bible (Septuagint) was reportedly produced in the 3rd

century B.c.E.9 Other scholars, in no way embarrassed by images of an embodied

deity, increased and concretized these images. to In the end, normative Jewish belief

would settle on an incorporeal deity, thanks in no small measure to the great philoso

pher Maimonides.11Judaism would eventually become so characterized by an "invisi

ble, non-theophanous" deity that one can easily forget how recently such notions

established themselves as central postulates of the faith.12

Islam experienced similar developments, but contrary to the large body of academic

literature examining Judaic anthropomorphist trends, relatively few scholars have

Wesley Williams is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Near Eastern Studies, University of Michigan,

Ann Arbor. Mich. 48105, USA; e-mail: [email protected].

© 2002 Cambridge University Press 0020·7438102 $9.50



Anthropomorphism in Early Islam: A Reappraisal 463

Study of Theophany and Visio Dei in Early Islam," paper presented at the 16th Annual Middle East History

and Theory Conference, University of Chicago, Chicago, 12 May 2ool.

'''See Gilliot, "Muqatil, grand exegete."

''''See Isaiah Goldfeld, "MuqatilIbn

Sulayman."in

Arabic and Islamic Sllldies, ed. Jacob Mansour (Ramat-Gan: Bar-Han University Press, 1978), 2: 17.

"'On Muqatil's doctrines, see al-Ash'ari, Maqalat al-Islamiyyin, ed. Helmut Ritter (Istanbul. 1929-33),

209 f; van Ess, TG, 2:529 f; Gilliot, "Muqatil, grand exegete."

wesley williams, aspects of the creed of imam ahmad ibn hanbal

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