<![CDATA[This article analyzes Ibn Taimiyyah’s critical views on the practice of samā‘ (Sufi music) and raqṣ (Sufi dance), as part of his epistemological and theological project of purifying Sufism. Using a desk study approach and a historical-critical examination of primary texts such as Kitāb al-Samā‘ wa al-Raqṣ, al-Istiqāmah, and the views of his disciple Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyyah, the article also compares Ibn Taimiyyah’s arguments with those of figures such as al-Ghazālī and places them in a contemporary context. It finds that Ibn Taimiyyah’s critique was not merely a rejection of art, but a rejection of a spiritual epistemology not grounded in sharia. This finding is reinforced by contemporary studies by Arjan Post, Fadlou Shehadi and Yaron Klein. This article recommends a hermeneutical-contextual approach in rereading the legacy of aesthetic criticism in Islam.]]>
Copyrights © 2025
