During last session, we discussed the two early doubters of Islam, al-Rawandi and al-Razi. Both challenged the ideas and theologies of mainstream Islam in particular and strict religiosity in general. Both questioned the general opinions of G-d, or Allah, the validity of Muhammad and all other prophets, as well as the contradictory things within the Qur'an. The only thing that truly seperated them and allowed for their differences in reception was how they propagated and promoted their similar ideas. That is al-Rawandi was more despised and hated because of his contemptuous and sarcastic view of the masses being gullible in regards to what they saw as truth, whereas although al-Razi may have doubted the validity of the same things as al-Rawandi, he chose not to be as offensive with his beliefs and renowned for being generous, intelligent and skillful, having also become a genius of medieval medicine and chemistry.
As for the factual question here, what was the name of al-Rawandi's most important book?
Answer: Kitah al-Zummurrud, or the Book of the Emerald
And as for the factual and discussion questions from the next reading, how about this:
Factual: What was the name of the book written by Maimonides that prompted Moses de Leon to write the Zohar?
Answer: The Guide for the Perplexed
Discussion: What could possibly be a reason why de Leon's view of the Kaballah taken from the Zohar outlasted and was more well received than the view of Abraham Abulafia?
Very well put Jeremy. Another I wanted to add was the that Ghazzali was a bit pretictious for his time, but also understood very intelligent at the same time.
ReplyDeleteFactual: What is The Zohar?
A: A book written by Moses de Leon which transformed cabala into the tremendous movement it became.
Discussion: How would the zohar compare to the Bible & the Talmad?