Ibn al-Rawandi

Ibn Al-Rawandi Ibn al-Rawandi (827 – 911) was an early skeptic of Islam and a critic of religion in general. In his early days he was a Mutazilite scholar but after rejecting the Mutazilite doctrine he adhered Shia Islam for a brief period of time and later became a freethinker who repudiated Islam and revealed religion .Though none of his works survived, his opinions had been preserved through his critics, and the surviving books that answered him. The book with the most preserved fragments (through an Ismaili book refuting Al-Rawandi's ideology), is the Kitab al-Zumurrud (The Book of the Emerald).

Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn Yahya ibn Ishaq al-Rawandi ( , ), commonly known as Ibn al-Rawandi ( ;‎ 827–911 CE ), was an early skeptic of Islam and a critic of religion in general. In his early days, he was a Mu'tazilite scholar, but after rejecting the Mu'tazilite doctrine, he adhered to Shia Islam for a brief period before becoming a freethinker who repudiated Islam and revealed religion . Although none of his works have survived, his opinions had been preserved through his critics, Muslim apologists and the surviving books that answered him. His book with the most preserved fragments (through an Ismaili book refuting Al-Rawandi's ideology) is the Kitab al-Zumurrud ( The Book of the Emerald ).

An early skeptic of Islam and a critic of religion in general Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn Yahya ibn Ishaq al-Rawandi ( ), commonly known as Ibn al-Rawandi ( ;‎ 827–911 CE ), was an early skeptic of Islam and a critic of religion in general. In his early days, he was a Mu'tazilite scholar, but after rejecting the Mu'tazilite doctrine, he became a freethinker who repudiated Islam and revealed religion . Although none of his works have survived, his opinions had been preserved through his critics and the surviving books that answered him. His book with the most preserved fragments (through an Ismaili book refuting Al-Rawandi's ideology) is the Kitab al-Zumurrud ( The Book of the Emerald ).

Early skeptic of Islam and a critic of religion in general Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn Yahya ibn Ishaq al-Rawandi ( ), commonly known as Ibn al-Rawandi ( ;‎ 827–911 CE ), was an early Persian scholar and theologian. In his early days, he was a Mu'tazilite scholar, but then rejected the Mu'tazilite doctrine. Afterwards, he became a Shia scholar; there is some debate about whether he stayed a Shia until his death or became a skeptic , though most sources confirm his eventual rejection of all religion and becoming an atheist . Although none of his works have survived, his opinions had been preserved through his critics and the surviving books that answered him. His book with the most preserved fragments (through an Ismaili book refuting Al-Rawandi's ideology) is the Kitab al-Zumurrud ( The Book of the Emerald ). Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy . Ibn ar-Rawandi wavered between a number of Islamic sects and then abandoned all of them in favour of atheism. al-A'sam, A. History of Ibn Ar-Riwandi the Heretic . A protean freethinker who experimented with Mu'tazilism and Shi'ism before finally embracing atheism, Ibn al-Rawandi was condemned by most Muslims as a dangerous heretic. Early in his life, Ibn al-Rawandi was a Mutazilite scholar, who, like all Mutazilite scholars sought to apply Greek philosophy to explicate Islamic theology. After rejecting Mutazilism, he turned for a while to Shi'ism. At some point, however, and for reasons that are apparently unknown, al-Rawnadi became a free thinker and repudiated Islam and revealed religion. Yaḥyā Ibn al-Rāwandī(815–860 or 910), perhaps one of the most controversial figures in early Islamic history, is frequently called the "arch-heretic"...both Muslims and non-Muslims (especially Jews) wrote polemics against Ibn al-Rāwandī in which they acknowledged the serious threat his work posed not only to Islam, but also to Judaism and all Abrahamic religions. Ibn al-Rawandi was indeed a heretic who denied the possibility of prophecy, and the K. al-Zumurrud was written in order to expound his heretical views Inati, Shams. A highly enigmatic and controversial figure in the history of Islamic thought, Ibn ar-Rawandi wavered between a number of Islamic sects and then abandoned all of them in favour of atheism. As an atheist, he used reason to destroy religious beliefs, especially those of Islam. He compared prophets to unnecessary magicians, God to a human being in terms of knowledge and emotion, and the Qur'an to an ordinary book. Contrary to Islamic belief, he advocated that the world is without a beginning and that heaven is nothing special. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam , edited by Ibrahim Kalin, vol. 1, New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.