Ibn Taymiyya's Traditionalist Kalam: A Historical and Structural Analysis
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Although rejection of dialectical theology is generally claimed to be essential to the salaff tradition, theology or kalam in the sense of discussing creedal matters was practiced to some extent in the same tradition from the very beginning and finally fully adopted by Ibn Taynniyya, the founder of the so-called late Salafiyya. His traditionalist kalam resembles the Ash'arite theology in that both welcome elaborate analysis and disputation, but the former lacks systematic structure as it emulates the disorganized topical fashion of the early Salaff literature. Arguing that Ibn Taymiyya can be considered a Sunni scholar of kalam or a Saler mutakallim, this paper examines the structure of his theological enterprise and investigates its historical roots as well as its fate.