The Particular Will (al-irādat al-juz’iyya): Excavations Regarding a Latecomer in Kalām Terminology on Human Agency and its Position in Naqshbandi Discourse

The emergence of the notion of the particular will (al-irādat al-juz’iyya) and similar terms remains a largely overlooked late development in the discussion of human agency within the field of kalām. Although absent as a terminus technicus from classical Māturīdi-Ḥanafi works, it became standard usage in many Ottoman and post-Ottoman texts, beginning in the 17th century. Intriguingly, it seems as if the notion and concept of the particular will grew to particular prominence among Ottoman Naqshbandis. This, in turn, conditioned the enduring reliance on this specific terminology even among major Turkish scholars of the 20th-21st centuries. Seemingly unattached to issues of Sufism, its contemporary usage seems to provide an example of how a discourse and its distinctive terminology, generated primarily within Turkey’s formerly most widespread ṭarīqa, has filtered into the works of eminent figures of the state-induced post-ṭarīqa era. This process has, among others, provided us with an unexpected indicator of the degree to which such a figure as Muḥammad al-Birkawī (d. 1573) and the local Naqshbandiyya have influenced Turkish Islamic culture and doctrine as (re)presented by Turkish religious thinkers acquiring mass followings in the republican era

The šarḥ/ḥāšiya Phenomenon in Southeast Asia

Umm al-barāhīn, the Ašʿarī creed by Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Sanūsī (d. 895/1490), is one of the most frequently commented ʿaqīdas in Muslim tradition. Commentaries, glosses and commentated translations of the text have, however, hitherto received only scant attention. In Southeast Asia, the Umm al-barāhīn appears to have—through the intermediary of Malay and Javanese commentaries and commentated translations—given way to an entirely new genre of distinctively Southeast Asian ʿaqīda literature, known as sifat dua puluh (Twenty Attributes). By reference to the evolution of commentaries to the Umm al-barāhīn into the sifat dua puluh literature, the present contribution highlights the importance of studying the šarḥ/ḥāšiya phenomenon in Islamic languages other than Arabic, in order to broaden our understanding of the various functions and trans-cultural aspects of commentary writing.Umm al-barāhīn, la profession de foi ašʿarīte d’Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Sanūsī (m. 895/1490), est l’une des ʿaqīdas les plus souvent commentées dans la tradition musulmane. Commentaires, gloses et traductions commentées du texte n’ont, cependant, jusqu’à présent reçu que peu d’attention. En Asie du Sud-Est, et ce, par l’intermédiaire de commentaires malais et javanais et de traductions commentées, le Umm al-barāhīn a, dans les faits, cédé la place à un nouveau genre de littérature de ʿaqida typiquement sud-est asiatique, connu sous le nom sifat dua puluh (Les vingt attributs). En se référant à l’évolution des commentaires du Umm al-barāhīn dans la littérature des sifat dua puluh, la présente contribution met en évidence l’importance d’étudier le phénomène du šarḥ et de la ḥāšiya dans les langues islamiques autres que l’arabe, afin d’élargir notre compréhension des différentes fonctions de l’écriture des commentaires et de ses aspects transculturels.تُعدّ العقيدة الأشعريّة المسمّاة بأمّ البراهين لأبي عبد الله السنوسيّ (ت 895ﻫ/1490م) من أكثر العقائد الّتي قدمت فيها شروحات في التراث الإسلاميّ. ولكن لم تلق الشروحات والتعليقات والترجمات المُفسّرة لهذا الكتاب الكثير من الاهتمام. أمّا في جنوب شرق آسيا، أصبح كتاب أمّ البراهين نقطة انطلاق لنوعٍ جديد من الأدب العقائديّ وهذا من خلال الشروحات والترجمات المُفسّرة باللغتين الملايويّة والجاويّة. عُرف هذا النوع الجديد باسم « Sifat dua puluh » أيّ « الصفات العشرون ». بالرجوع إلى تطوّر شروحات أمّ البراهين في أدب الصفات العشرين، توضّح لنا هذه المداخلة أهمّيّة دراسة ظاهرة الشروحات والحواشي في اللغات الإسلاميّة غير العربيّة، وذلك لتوسيع فهمنا لمختلف الوظائف والجوانب عبر الثقافيّة من كتابة الشروحات