Critical Re-reading of Salafism Arguments in Condemning Theology Focusing on Ibn Taymiyyah’s View

Theology (Kalam) is one of the Islamic intellectual sciences that has had proponents and opponents in Islamic sects since its inception. After compiling theological books, some agreed with this science and explained it, and some opposed it and criticized it. The Salafists, following the People of Hadiths (Ahl-alhdith), based on the extreme traditionalism and because of abandonment of rational reasoning, disagree with theology and consider it as a cause of damage and misguidance. Some of the most important arguments of the Salafists in denying and opposing theology are the avoidance of pious predecessors from the theological topics, prohibiting of Companions and Successors (Sahaba and Tabieen of the Holy Prophet) from dealing with theology, considering theology as heresy, its including superstitious, false, and even blasphemy, and the incompatibility between the results of theological discussions and Quran and tradition. The present study critiques and evaluates Salafi arguments and reveals their weaknesses through a documentary and critical analysis method. The arguments of the Salafists are typically fallacious and contradict the Qur'an and the tradition, as well as the manners of the companions, Successors, and other Islamic scholars. The Salafi view has bitter consequences such as the illegitimacy of other sciences and the rejecting of the value of intellectual and instrumental sciences, as well as a kind of exclusivism and absolutism about the understanding of the people of the first three centuries of the Islamic world.