Al-Qushayr¿'s Teleological Theology

Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri’s (d. 465/1072) theological oeuvres remain eclipsed by his celebrated achievements in Sufism, with prevailing scholarly assertions that he is a mere repeater of Ash?arite views and that his theology plays an apologetic role within al-Risalat al-Qushayriyya, anchoring its esoteric content to orthodoxy. Against this backdrop, the present study investigates al-Qushayri’s theology, in the light of intellectual developments in the fourth-fifth/tenth-eleventh centuries. His views are critically analysed on prominent epochal issues across his three most voluminous theological creeds, Luma? fi al-i?tiqad, al-Fu?ul fi al-u?ul and al-Risala. Key topics include God’s attributes; His relationship with man; and epistemological concerns. The thesis argues that al-Qushayri’s theology is, contrary to prevailing views, neither homogenous, nor entirely Ash?arite. It reveals that his variegated theology is shaped by teleological forces. Al-Luma? shows a traditionalist bent, whereas al-Fu?ul is distinctly semi-rationalist. In al-Risala, he lays the foundations of a mystical theology that governs the Sufi schema, whilst simultaneously delimiting the relevance of Ash?arite doctrines to the mere confines of the masses.