A study of Ibn al-Amir Sanani’s theological methods and thoughts

In the Qur’an and Islamic traditions, moderation in thought and action is emphasized, but the distance of most Muslims from the true teachings of religion has caused this principle to reach its true value and closeness among them. One of the clear examples of this issue is the extremism that exists among the thoughts of some Muslims, for example, the Mu’tazilites’ extremism in using reason and not paying attention to the original Shari’a texts, and on the contrary, overemphasizing the hadiths. And Salafism has caused many problems in the Islamic world on the appearance of books and traditions. Ibn al-Amir is one of the most influential scientific and political figures in Yemen in the previous three centuries, who spread the said extremism in Yemen due to his inclination towards the school of thought of Ibn Taymiyyah. He later denied Shiite rationalism and, by writing books such as Purification of Belief, also considered polytheism and appeals as polytheism. In this treatise, an attempt is made to open a way for their scholarly critique by explaining Ibn al-Amir’s intellectual method and its effect on the extremist currents in Yemen, which have emerged in the present era in the form of al-Qaeda and ISIS. Ibn al-Amir, due to his inclination towards the school of Hadith, does not consider reason to be able to understand religion independently, such as beliefs, and for this reason he has seriously expressed his opposition to Islamic theologians and philosophers. Ibn al-Amir, in his interpretation and jurisprudence, contrary to his doctrinal principles, has considered rational understanding as a proof and has accepted the rational requirements with his own interpretation.