Heresy and the Formation of Medieval Islamic Orthodoxy: The Making of Sunnism, from the Eighth to the Eleventh Century

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part I. History of Orthodoxy: 1. Introduction -- 2. Discourses of heresy I (800-850) -- 3. Discourses of heresy II (859-950) -- Part II. Heresy and Society: 4. Regionalism and topographies of heresy -- 5. Ethnogenesis and heresy -- 6. Politics: rebellion and heresy -- 7. Religion and society -- Part III. Unmaking Heresy: Orthodoxy as History-Writing: 8 Manāqib: narratives of orthodoxy I -- 9. Masānīd: narratives of orthodoxy II -- Part IV. The Formation of Classical Sunnism: 10. Consensus and heresy -- 11. Conclusion -- Works Cited.

"Between the eighth and eleventh centuries, many defining features of classical Sunni Islam began to take shape. Among these was the formation of medieval Sunnism around the belief in the unimpeachable orthodoxy of four eponymous founders and their schools of law. In this original study, Ahmad Khan explores the history and cultural memory of one of these eponymous founders, Abū Ḥanīfa. Showing how Abū Ḥanīfa evolved from being the object of intense religious exclusion to a pillar of Sunni orthodoxy, Khan examines the concepts of orthodoxy and heresy, and outlines their changing meanings over the course of four centuries. He demonstrates that orthodoxy and heresy were neither fixed theological categories, nor pious fictions, but instead were impacted by everything from law and politics, to society and culture. This book illuminates the significant yet often neglected transformations in Islamic social, political and religious thought during this vibrant period"-- Provided by publisher.