Cumhuriyet İlahiyat Dergisi

Abstract

Abstract: Magreb is among the important geographies
which contribute to the development of Islamic thought. One of the persons who
grew up in this region, which hosts many sects and political formations based
on their foundations of thought in the historical process, is Muhammad Ibn
Tūmart (d. 524/1130). As a curious student, Ibn Tūmart studied Mālikī and
Zāhirī fiqh in Magreb and Andalus, and then carried out a ten-year journey to
the east for education. He met Ash‘ariyya and Mu‘tazila schools of theology
here. After the adventure of education, Ibn Tūmart, who traveled back to Magreb
and tried to narrate his thoughts to the public everywhere, benefited from a
selective approach from the thoughts of different schools. He composed his own
sectarian identity by combining the Mālikī and Zāhirī fiqh view, the kalām of
Ash‘ariyya and Mu‘tazila, the Shī‘ī imāmate thought and Mahdī belief, and some
principles of Khārijism with his own experiences. His sectarian identity
emerged as the result of a selective attitude. With the sectarian identity he
composed, he gained a ground for presenting both his actionist personality and
his political goals.

Summary: The historical adventure of Islamic cultural heritage still deserves a
vast curiosity. One of the civilizations which this religion built in different
geographies is located in the Maghreb region. Although there have been some
researches on the Magreb’s religious history and thought world, there are some
problems that are waiting to be illuminated. In this context, different
evaluations are made on Muhammad Ibn Tūmart (d. 524/1130), the founder of the
Almohads movement. When we look at these different types of portraits, a
fundamental problem arises. Who is Ibn Tūmart and how should his thought be
understood?

In order to evaluate Ibn Tūmart’s thought codes and sectarian identity on
a proper ground, it is necessary to mention about the historical process of the
social, political and cultural structure of the Magreb in a general way. North
Africa, is a remarkable area from its earliest days onwards, has been home to
great civilizations. The Berbers, indigenous people of the region,
lived in tribes and continued their tribal traditions in established and
nomadic life. In the first century of Islam, the Magreb began to be conquered.
However, the fact that the ʿAbbāsīd power did not fully dominate the territory
opened space for the existence of different political formations in the Magreb.
A general feature of sects emerged as a political force in the Magreb from the
II /VIII. century is that they did not take place for themselves in the
geography of Damascus, Iraq and Egypt. In this process various sects, especially
Khārijītes and Zaydīs, established different states. Almoravids, who made
Mālikiyya as an official sect, carried out an effective policy. However, in the
course of time, rights and justice ceased to exist, governors and commanders
neglected their duties, extreme amusement and liquor, and imitating strangers
emerged. Kalām and philosophy were forbidden because of the imitative attitudes
of the Mālikī faqīhs who seized power.

The thought world of Ibn Tūmart was shaped by the training he received in
Magreb in the early days of his life. The Magreb’s fiqh tradition was an
important element in this framework. Ibn Tūmart began to read Mālikiyya fiqh
from his first training. However, it is necessary to mention about his journey
of education which is a turning point in the life of Ibn Tūmart. These journeys
from Magreb to Andalus and then east to Egypt, Mecca and Baghdad shaped the
thought of Ibn Tūmart.

Despite Ibn Tūmart’s connection with the Mālikī world and his education,
his views on usūl and furū do not give the impression that a single sect is
followed. According to Ibn Tūmart, the shār'ī claims are the Qur’ān, sunnāh,
and ijmā’. Ibn Tūmart does not include qiyās here, which is accepted by many
sects as one of the claims, especially the Mālikiyya. In Ibn Tūmart’s approach
on usūl, we can say that he has followed the Zāhirī line, in particular on the
subject of shār'ī evidences. We can say that, in furū matters, he has followed
Mālikī’s views.

Ibn Tūmart went to Baghdad after Egypt in the course of education. It is
known that Ibn Tūmart took courses from Ash‘arī scholars for a period of ten
years in Baghdad. The common feature of these scholars is that they have a
respectful position within their own sects. Along with the training he has
received, Ash‘ariyya has influenced Ibn Tūmart’s ideas. However, he doesn’t
follow Ash‘ariyya in all theological matters. In this framework it is
noteworthy that some of the views of Ibn Tūmart are parallel to Mu‘tazila. This
is even more interesting when we consider the historical controversy between
Ash‘arīs and Mu‘tazilīs.

Ibn Tūmart’s journey from Baghdad to Magreb is a process in which his
first supporters also began to form. Ibn Tūmart built a mosque in the regions
where the Berber tribes lived, gave lessons to the people, and established
brotherhood among the local supporters and other supporters. In other words,
these activities have constituted the religious social base of the Almohads
movement, which will come out as a state afterwards.

In the emergence of Ibn Tūmart as a religious-political leader, the ideas
of imāmate, innocence and mahdīsm, which have arisen from the Imāmī-Shī‘ī
thought, are very important. According to Ibn Tūmart, imāmate, as in
Imāmī-Shī‘ī doctrine, is a very important element of religion and among the
conditions of Imān. Imāms are innocent and protected from mistakes. However, he
does not defend classical Shī‘ī Imāms sequence. Another issue that is highly
related to imāmate thought is the issue of mahdīsm. Mahdīsm is a reflection of
imāmate’s practice. Ibn Tūmart has introduced himself as a mahdī and has
received allegiance from his supporters. In this process, it should be taken
into consideration that Ibn Tūmart has regulated the Berber tribes, solved many
issues like the feuds, and has lifted many problems, especially education. The
idea of Mahdīsm, not only hasn’t been constituted with religious texts, but
also has been ripened with practical applications. Therefore, Ibn Tūmart has
begun to use the title of mahdī as a charismatic leader.

The thought world of Ibn Tūmart is framed by the expression of both
political goals and religious understanding on the same plane. The religious
ground of this movement against the Almoravids is obtained by acceptances built
on faith and kufr. More clearly, Ibn Tūmart denounced publicly the masses, who
did not think like him and who did not accept him as imām and mahdī, and whom
he regarded as distant from the tawhīd, with kufr and he saw no harm in
fighting. As it is known, the idea of ​​blaming with kufr those who do not
believe or do not share the same ideas and then fighting with them firstly has
appeared in Khārijism in the history of Islam.

Ibn Tūmart’s thought world, like his life story extending from Magreb to
Andalus, from Egypt to Baghdad, also contains a plane which cannot be explained
with one-sided perspectives. Ibn Tūmart has gained much knowledge, and has
contributed many works in different fields such as kalām, fiqh and hadith. In
this works, he has put forward his views both in the kalām and fiqh. On the
other hand, he has shaped the political background of the State of the
Almohads. In this context, Ibn Tūmart emerges as both a political actor and a
religious figure.

Ibn Tūmart has aimed to obtain a more inclusive discourse by giving up
the unified approaches of the sects and by bringing together selected elements
from different or even oppositional views. Because he has wanted to establish
epistemological integrity within a particular system, he has attempted to unite
the views from different sources. That is why Ibn Tūmart’s sectarian identity
has been based on selectivity.