A CRITICAL EDITION AND STUDY OF AL-JAWĀB AL-MASHRŪḤ ʿALĀ SUʾĀL MASʾALAT AL-RŪḤ (ON THE QUESTION OF THE SOUL: AN EXPLICATORY RESPONSE) AL-IMĀM IBRĀHĪM IBN ABĪ BAKR AL- ʿAWFĪ AL-ṢĀLIḤĪ AL-ḤANBALĪ (D. 1094/1683)

Abstract

This thesis provides a critical edition and analytical study of a manuscript in the field of Islamic eschatology that dates back to the eleventh/seventeenth century. The manuscript, entitled al- Jawāb al-Mashrūḥ ʿalā Suʾāl Masʾalat al-Rūḥ [on the Question of the Soul: An Explicatory Response], was authored by Hanbali scholar Ibrāhīm ibn Abī Bakr al-ʿAwfī al-Ṣāliḥī (1030– 1094/1620–1683). In this treatise, al-ʿAwfī responds to a number of questions addressed to him pertaining to the spirit (al-rūḥ) and related eschatological questions, articulating doctrinal positions that align with Ḥanbalī theology. The thesis is structured in two main parts. The first part, “A Study of the Author and His Work”, comprises five chapters in English. Chapter One provides a biography of al-ʿAwfī. Chapter Two offers an in-depth study of the manuscript, its doctrinal discussions, and relevance within the history of Islamic theology. Chapter Three explores the historical and intellectual context of al-ʿAwfī’s thought in the seventeenth century. Chapter Four presents a literature review tracing the intellectual evolution of the concept of the soul in Islamic thought, which serves as a background for the following chapter. Chapter Five analyses thematic elements and methodological approaches in al-ʿAwfī’s treatise. The second part of the thesis consists of a fully annotated critical edition of the manuscript. The accompanying study situates al-ʿAwfī’s eschatological views within the broader framework of Islamic theological and philosophical traditions, with a particular focus on Hanbali perspectives. It also reveals elements of both continuity and adaptation in eschatological discourse. Ultimately, this thesis underscores the enduring vitality of Islamic intellectual traditions in the seventeenth century and their capacity to engage with complex theological issues, contributing meaningfully to contemporary scholarship in Islamic theology and manuscript studies.