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'Abd al-Karim b. Abi l-'Awja'


ʿAbd al-Karīm b. Abī l-ʿAwjāʾ (Arabic: عبدالکریم بن أبي العوجاء) (d. 155 AH/772) was a controversial figure of the 2nd/8th century, described in historical, theological, and heresiographical sources as an atheist (mulḥid), Zindiq, or Dahri. He lived in Basra for a time and was reportedly a student of Al-Hasan al-Basri initially, but gradually distanced himself from mainstream intellectual currents and inclined towards denying principles such as Tawhid (Monotheism), Nubuwwa (Prophethood), and Ma'ad (Resurrection). Ibn Abi l-'Awja' became famous for his numerous debates and arguments with theologians (mutakallimūn), especially his conversations with Imam al-Sadiq (a), which have been widely reflected in Shi'a and historical sources. He openly propagated his views and was accused by many religious scholars of fabricating hadith and destroying the ideological foundations of Islam. Finally, during the Abbasid Caliphate, he was killed on the charge of zandaqa (heresy) by the order of government officials.

Name and Lineage

Most sources state his name as 'Abd al-Karim, but some sources have mentioned him by other names: in al-Bidaya wa l-nihaya,[1] his name is "Muhammad," and in al-Fihrist,[2] it is "Nu'man," both of which are likely incorrect. Al-Baladhuri considers him to be from the tribe of Banu Bakr b. Wa'il[3] and names his father Nuwayra,[4] who was from the clan of Banu 'Amr b. Tha'laba b. 'Amir b. Dhuhl b. Tha'laba.[5] His father went to Khorasan after being accused of murder among his people and became known there as Abi l-'Awja'.[6]

Existing sources do not mention his date of birth or early life, but it can be said that he belonged to a prominent family and was the maternal uncle of Ma'n b. Za'ida al-Shaybani.[7]

Inclination towards Atheism

'Abd al-Karim initially lived in Basra[8] and was a student of Al-Hasan al-Basri for some time, but he separated from his teacher and, according to a report, apostatized.[9] It is said that the reason for this change of opinion was the contradictions he saw in al-Hasan al-Basri's words regarding Determinism and Free Will (Jabr and Ikhtiyar), but the matter did not end there, and he turned to atheism (ilḥād) for unknown reasons.

Atheistic Beliefs

Most authors of history, theology (kalam), and heresiography books have counted him as a Zindiq (one of its meanings is Majus or someone who conceals his disbelief),[10][11] and his killing was also due to this accusation. al-Baghdadi has called him inclined towards the Rafidis,[12] but Zindiq and Rafidi are not very precise concepts.

A more correct view is that he was a Dualist (Thanawī) and a follower of Mani, and there is evidence for this.[13] Some have also considered him a Qadari or Rafidi.[14] It can be said that he was an independent thinker in his sect – whatever it was – and did not suffice with mere imitation and following.

There are arguments (iḥtijājāt) from Ibn Abi l-'Awja' available, within which his beliefs appear more clearly. He had conversations with Imam al-Sadiq (a) many times and asked questions that can implicitly indicate the nature of his thoughts and beliefs. What emerges from these arguments does not correspond to Manichaeism and Dualism in some cases and reveals more Dahri (materialist) tendencies; even Mufaddal b. Umar[15] and Abu Hayyan[16] explicitly state that he was a Dahri.

From the mentioned arguments, it seems that he did not believe in the existence of a Creator,[17] or he engaged in disputation about God,[18] and in one place he considered God absent.[19] In a conversation between him and Imam al-Sadiq (a), the Imam accuses him of believing neither in God nor in the Prophet (s). 'Abd al-Karim does not deny this statement[20] and even in some cases tries to negate the existence of a Maker.[21]

Contrary to the attribution of Ibn Abi l-'Awja' to Dualism, he portrays himself as a materialist. Once he asks Imam al-Sadiq (a): "What is the proof for the createdness (ḥudūth) of bodies?"[22] which can imply his belief in the eternity (qidam) of the universe. In another conversation, it becomes clear that he believed in the pre-eternity of things[23] or calls himself uncreated.[24]

In a conversation in the presence of Mufaddal, he leads the speech to the negation of creation and the Creator and says that everything has come into existence by the requirement of its nature; there is no manager (mudabbir) or maker (ṣāniʿ), and the world has always been and will be like this.[25] He thought that there is no return after death.[26] In a discussion, Imam al-Sadiq (a) attributes the denial of Resurrection, Paradise, and Hell to him, and he does not reject this statement. Ibn Abi l-'Awja' denied the mission of the Prophet (s) and Prophethood in general.[27]

Scientific and Practical Conduct

Ibn Abi l-'Awja' strongly propagated his belief and sect and called the youth to his path.[28] According to Shi'a sources, scholars avoided associating with him due to his foul language and bad nature,[29] but he saw a special superiority in himself and considered only theologians (Mutakallimūn) worthy of discussion and debate with him,[30] as Abu l-Faraj al-Isfahani[31] calls him one of the six theologians of that era in Basra and mentions his name alongside 'Amr b. 'Ubayd and Wasil b. 'Ata.

It is clear that he had students and disciples, and apparently, their number was significant, as after his defeat in a debate, a group of his disciples converted to Islam, and a group continued to follow him.[32] Besides disciples, he also enjoyed the friendship and admiration of people like Ibn al-Muqaffa'.[33]

From the collection of arguments attributed to him, it can be understood that he was a bold and fearless man who took advantage of the relatively free environment of his time to propagate his blasphemous beliefs. There are numerous stories and reports about him in Shi'a sources. According to these sources, he was firm in his beliefs, and although he was defeated in debates, he did not give up his thoughts and remained on his views until death.[34] Sometimes he prayed and considered the reason for it to be the habit of the body, the custom of the city, and also satisfying family and children.[35]

Hadith Forgery

Like many Zindiqs, he was diligent in destroying the ideological foundations of Muslims and was fully committed to fabricating reports and hadiths and spreading them among the people.[36] According to Shi'a sources, his fabricated hadiths were all about Tashbih (anthropomorphism), Ta'til (negation of attributes), and some were about changing and distorting the rulings of Sharia.[37] At the time of his death, he revealed this act and announced that he had fabricated 4,000 hadiths to make Haram Halal and Halal Haram, and with this act, he particularly disrupted the calculation of the month of Ramadan, damaged the validity of sighting the crescent, and established the counting of days instead.[38]

Relation with Imam al-Sadiq (a)

Ibn Abi l-'Awja' had a scientific relationship with Imam al-Sadiq (a) through debate and confessed that he had seen many scholars and debated with numerous theologians, but the awe that exists in Imam al-Sadiq (a) is in no one else.[39] Although he ostensibly confessed that he was seeking to understand the truths, even with the clarification of the answers to the doubts and issues he raised himself, he was not willing to accept the truth. Many times his companions and followers who were present in the debate sessions believed and accepted the truth, but he himself did not submit to the truth.[40] Sometimes the truth became so clear that his followers said he would become Muslim, but Imam al-Sadiq (a), who was aware of his blindness of heart and obstinacy, said: "He is blinder than to accept the truth." When the Imam asked about his presence during the Hajj days, he replied that he had come only out of habit to watch the madness of people in shaving heads and stoning the Jamarat.[41] In a session, he addressed Imam al-Sadiq (a) as "Ibn Rasul Allah" (Son of the Messenger of Allah). The Imam said to him: "It is very strange and amazing that you deny God but address me as Ibn Rasul Allah." He replied, "This act is out of habit."[42]

Opposition to the Qur'an

Al-Tabrisi says that Abu Shakir al-Daysani, 'Abd al-Malik al-Basri, and Ibn al-Muqaffa' decided at the suggestion of Ibn Abi l-'Awja' that each of them would challenge one quarter of the Qur'an, because by doing this, the Prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (s) and then Islam would be invalidated, but they failed.[43]

Mockery of Divine Rulings

Ibn Abi l-'Awja' considered religious rulings invalid and even engaged in mockery; for example, he occasionally mocked the pilgrims (hujjaj) and considered Hajj rituals humiliating and the establishment of such customs improper.[44] In short, in the arguments, Ibn Abi l-'Awja' showed himself not as a Manichaean or Dualist, but as a materialist and anti-Islam. Although the great religious leaders exercised tolerance towards him, the officials of the Caliphate did not tolerate his beliefs and killed him.

Death

Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Sulayman, the governor of Kufa on behalf of al-Mansur, the Abbasid caliph, arrested Ibn Abi l-'Awja'—who had moved from Basra to Kufa.[45] Many people interceded for him with al-Mansur, and the caliph wrote to his agent to release him. 'Abd al-Karim, confident in the influence and power of his intercessors, sent a message to Abu Ja'far asking for a 3-day respite in exchange for 100,000 dirhams (until al-Mansur's letter reached him). Abu Ja'far, who had forgotten his prisoner, remembered him in this way and killed him before receiving al-Mansur's letter. According to al-Isfarayini, he crucified him.[46]

According to another narration in Shi'a sources, 'Abd al-Karim died of extreme annoyance after being defeated in a debate,[47] the authenticity of which cannot be assured. On the other hand, al-Mas'udi[48] attributes his killing to the time of Al-Mahdi al-Abbasi (r. 158/775–169/785), but this report seems confused. Also, the report of al-Baghdadi[49] stating that al-Nazzam (a Mu'tazili theologian) associated with him, cannot be correct, because al-Nazzam was not a contemporary of Ibn Abi l-'Awja' and lived after him.

According to Al-Tabari, the Sunni historian, his death was in the 155 AH/772.[50]

Reflection in English-Language Studies

Ibn Abi l-'Awja' has been examined in contemporary English-language studies related to the history of Islamic theology under topics related to Zandaqa, Dahriyya, and critical non-believing currents in the early centuries of Islam. In these works, he is usually introduced as one of the prominent examples of non-religious debaters whose views have reached us through the reports of his religious opponents.

Some Islamic scholars have emphasized that labels such as "Zindiq" or "Thanawi" (Dualist) in classical sources do not necessarily reflect the exact intellectual identity of individuals, but rather often reflect the polemical language of Muslim scholars in confronting religious critics. From this perspective, Ibn Abi l-'Awja', rather than being a representative of a coherent Dualist religion, is considered an example of critical and Dahri tendencies in the intellectual atmosphere of 2nd-century Iraq.[51]

In the *Encyclopaedia of Islam*, Ibn Abi l-'Awja' is mentioned among the famous Zindiqs of the Abbasid period, and his role in religious debates, the attribution of hadith fabrication to him, and his connection with the intellectual circles of Basra and Kufa are noted. This entry also emphasizes that our knowledge of his views is mainly obtained through refutations and debates quoted in Shi'a and Sunni sources.[52]

Some Western researchers, including Patricia Crone, have considered the Zandaqa movement in the Abbasid period as an intellectual reaction to the consolidation of the religious and political authority of the Caliphate and have analyzed individuals like Ibn Abi l-'Awja' within this framework; individuals who were subjected to political and religious persecution due to criticizing the foundations of revelation, prophethood, and Sharia.[53]

New research has reminded that reports about Ibn Abi l-'Awja's beliefs should be read with caution; because these reports are often quoted in the context of verbal debates and with the aim of refuting and faulting him. Therefore, reconstructing his exact intellectual system without prejudice faces serious difficulties.[54]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, vol. 10, p. 113.
  2. ↑ Ibn al-Nadīm, al-Fihrist, p. 401.
  3. ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 105.
  4. ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 95.
  5. ↑ Ibn Ḥazm, Jamharat ansāb al-ʿArab, p. 316.
  6. ↑ Akhbār al-dawla al-ʿAbbāsiyya, p. 389.
  7. ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, vol. 8, pp. 47–48; Bīrūnī, al-Āthār al-bāqiya, p. 67; Isfarāyīnī, al-Tabṣīr fī l-dīn, p. 81.
  8. ↑ Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, al-Aghānī, vol. 3, p. 146.
  9. ↑ Ibn Bābawayh, al-Tawḥīd, p. 253; Ṭabrisī, al-Iḥtijāj, vol. 2, p. 335.
  10. ↑ Lughat-nāma-yi Dehkhudā, under the word Zindīq.
  11. ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 96; Bīrūnī, Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind, p. 196; Ibn Ḥazm, Jamharat ansāb al-ʿArab, p. 316; Jāḥiẓ, Rasāʾil al-Jāḥiẓ, p. 145.
  12. ↑ Baghdādī, al-Farq bayn al-firaq, p. 163.
  13. ↑ Bīrūnī, al-Āthār al-bāqiya, p. 67; Isfarāyīnī, al-Tabṣīr fī l-dīn, p. 81.
  14. ↑ Baghdādī, al-Farq bayn al-firaq, p. 163.
  15. ↑ Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar, Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal, p. 8.
  16. ↑ Abū Ḥayyān al-Tawḥīdī, al-Imtāʿ wa l-muʾānasa, vol. 2, p. 20.
  17. ↑ Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar, Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal, p. 6.
  18. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 96; Ibn Bābawayh, al-Tawḥīd, p. 253.
  19. ↑ Ibn Bābawayh, al-Tawḥīd, p. 254; Ṭabrisī, al-Iḥtijāj, vol. 2, p. 335; Irbilī, Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 388.
  20. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 76; Ibn Bābawayh, al-Tawḥīd, pp. 296–297.
  21. ↑ Ibn Bābawayh, al-Tawḥīd, pp. 295–296.
  22. ↑ Ibn Bābawayh, al-Tawḥīd, pp. 297–298.
  23. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1, pp. 76–77.
  24. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 76.
  25. ↑ Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar, Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal, p. 6.
  26. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 76.
  27. ↑ Jāḥiẓ, Rasāʾil al-Jāḥiẓ, p. 145.
  28. ↑ Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, al-Aghānī, vol. 3, p. 147.
  29. ↑ Ṭabrisī, al-Iḥtijāj, vol. 2, p. 335.
  30. ↑ Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar, Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal, p. 7.
  31. ↑ Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, al-Aghānī, vol. 3, p. 146.
  32. ↑ Ibn Bābawayh, al-Tawḥīd, pp. 296–297.
  33. ↑ Sharīf al-Murtaḍā, al-Amālī, vol. 1, p. 135.
  34. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1, pp. 74–78; Ibn Bābawayh, al-Tawḥīd, pp. 126, 253, 254, 293–298; Ṭabrisī, al-Iḥtijāj, vol. 2, pp. 335–337; Irbilī, Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 388.
  35. ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 106.
  36. ↑ Jāḥiẓ, Rasāʾil al-Jāḥiẓ, p. 145.
  37. ↑ Sharīf al-Murtaḍā, al-Amālī, vol. 1, p. 137.
  38. ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, vol. 8, p. 48; Baghdādī, al-Farq bayn al-firaq, pp. 163–164; Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 96; Sharīf al-Murtaḍā, al-Amālī, vol. 1, p. 128.
  39. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 76.
  40. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 76.
  41. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 76.
  42. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 76.
  43. ↑ Ṭabrisī, al-Iḥtijāj, vol. 2, p. 377.
  44. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 100; Ibn Bābawayh, al-Tawḥīd, p. 253; Ṭabrisī, al-Iḥtijāj, vol. 2, p. 335; Irbilī, Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 388.
  45. ↑ Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, al-Aghānī, vol. 3, p. 147.
  46. ↑ Isfarāyīnī, al-Tabṣīr fī l-dīn, p. 81; cf. Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, vol. 8, p. 48; Baghdādī, al-Farq bayn al-firaq, p. 164; Sharīf al-Murtaḍā, al-Amālī, vol. 1, pp. 127–128.
  47. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 78.
  48. ↑ Masʿūdī, Murūj al-dhahab, vol. 4, p. 224.
  49. ↑ Baghdādī, al-Milal wa l-niḥal, p. 91.
  50. ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, vol. 8, p. 48.
  51. ↑ van Ess, Theologie und Gesellschaft, vol. 1, pp. 415–420.
  52. ↑ "Ibn Abī al-ʿAwjāʾ", in Encyclopaedia of Islam.
  53. ↑ Crone, The Nativist Prophets of Early Islamic Iran, pp. 22–25.
  54. ↑ Cook, Early Muslim Dogma, pp. 176–178.

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