History of Islamic Theology

by Tilman Nagel, Thomas Thornton (Translator)

The book presents Muslim beliefs about God's relationship to humans by drawing on relevant Islamic sources from Muhammad to modern times. In connection with the social and political history of Islam, the reader is introduced to the central ideas and concepts of Islamic theologians. Nagel observes how, in the course of time, the universal messages in the Koran have become clearer through a dual process of analysis and application to a range of human experience. The outcome of this conflict-ridden process is the conviction that God endowed Abraham, the first prophet, with all knowledge man can achieve, and that complete comprehension of this store of knowledge is the deepest, but ultimately unattainable purpose of Islam and the culmination of the history of mankind. Included are chapters on the Koran; the foundations of Islamic theology, faith and Islam; the two types of Islam; theological literature; early Rationalism, Rationalism and tradition; theology and philosophy; Islam and Gnosis; Islamic orthodoxy; and Islam as ideology.

Genres: Islam, Religion, Theology, History

344 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2006

Reviews

[Nawwaf Rabah · Rating 3 out of 5]

اعترف لم افهمه ١٠٠٪؜ ولكنه يقدم نبذه وان كانت مختصره الا انها شامله لمشوار علم الكلام الاسلامي. احتاج الرجوع اليه مستقبلًا بعد تطوير قدرتي على فهم مصطلحات الفلسفه باللغه العربيه.

[عبد الله القصير · Rating 2 out of 5]

الكتاب واضح من عنوانه، فهو مقدمة عن علم الكلام الإسلامي ومع التركيز على القرون الأولى. الكتاب عبارة عن مجموعة من المحاضرات التي حررت على شكل كتاب، ولذا فالكتاب يعيبه ما يعيب أقرانه من الكتب المبنية على سلسلة من المحاضرات ، ينقصها سلاسة الكتاب العادي .
الإشكالية الثانية هي سوء الترجمة والتحرير للكتاب وهذه ليست المرة الأولى التي أعاني من سوء الترجمة لكتاب من إصدار دار الوراق، لذا أصبحت أتحاشاهم في معرض الكتاب مع جاذبية عناوينهم لي.

[Hussain]

الكتاب غير دقيق ابدًا
ولكن المنهج في القراءة، والمحاولات، والغاية من الكتاب، جميلة

بمعنى دقيق:
المادة سيئة
القالب ممتاز

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The German scholar of Middle East Studies, Tilman Nagel, an expert on Islam, published a book titled The History of Islamic Theology: From Muhammad to the Present in 2000. The version I read was the third edition from 2010. Thomas Thornton translated Nagel’s The History of Islamic Theology from German into English. The book is based on lectures Nagel gave on Islamic Theology as a professor at the University of Göttingten in Lower Saxony (Nagel & Thornton ix). I used this textbook in an Islamic Theology course. The professor of my course thought that Nagel had an excellent way of explaining the relationship between “Islam and Gnosis” in Chapter Seven (Nagel & Thornton 215-234). Nagel writes, "Gnostic ideas infiltrated Islamic intellectual life in connection with other traditions of late antiquity starting in the early Middle Ages. This is richly documented, although one can hardly speak of a truly Gnostic revision of Islam’s central message” (Nagel & Thornton 225). I agree with the review of this book by Publishers Weekly. "Although the book focuses on the early development of Islam in the ninth through 12th centuries, Nagel demonstrates how Muslims have carried these beliefs into the modern world" (Markus Wiener Publishers 2024). The History of Islamic Theology is a well-done introduction to Islamic Theology for a reader with some previous knowledge. Nagel and Thornton fulfill their goals of the book as listed in the preface (Nagel & Thornton ix-xii). I found the review by Publishers Weekly of this book helpful in writing this 'review.'
Works Cited:
Markus Wiener Publishers. 2024. “Reviews of The History of Islamic Theology.” Markus Wiener Publishers. Last modified: October 17, 2024. The History of Islamic Theology — Markus Wiener Publishers