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Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn Yahya ibn Ishaq al-Rawandi (), commonly known as Ibn al-Rawandi (; 827–911 CE)Al-Zandaqa Wal Zanadiqa, by Mohammad Abd-El Hamid Al-Hamad, First edition 1999, Dar Al-Taliaa Al-Jadida, Syria (Arabic), was a 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 Islam scholar; there is some debate about whether he stayed a Shia until his death or became a Skepticism, though most sources confirm his eventual rejection of all religion and becoming an Atheism. (2026). 9780415223645, Routledge. ISBN 9780415223645 (2026). 9780748620890, Edinburgh University Press Ltd.. ISBN 9780748620890 (1999). 9789004315471, Brill. ISBN 9789004315471 Although none of his works have survived, his opinions had been preserved through his critics and the surviving books that answered him.Ibn al-Rawandi, by Mehmet Karabela, in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam, edited by Ibrahim Kalin, vol. 1, New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. 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).
Al-Rawandi is frequently mentioned in classical Islamic literature as one of the Zandaqa, a term referring to individuals who outwardly profess Islam while concealing beliefs that contradict it. He extended his critique to prophethood, though he did not deny the existence of a Creator. The German orientalist Josef van Ess argued that Ibn al-Rawandi's shift did not align with any particular philosophical doctrine, but rather reflected "an individualistic dialectical tendency, motivated initially by personal resentment against the Mu‘tazilites, which later evolved into a broader rejection of religious foundations."Josef van Ess, Theologie und Gesellschaft, vol. 2, p. 626.
Ibn al-Rawandi is considered an early example of what modern scholarship terms individual atheism or isolated intellectual dissent. Despite his polemical and critical approach, his thought did not give rise to a distinct school or following. Van Ess further noted that Ibn al-Rawandi "remained on the margins of Islamic theological discourse, and his ideas left no significant legacy."Josef van Ess, Theologie und Gesellschaft im 2. und 3. Jahrhundert Hidschra, Bd. 2, pp. 628–630.
He joined the Mu'tazili of Baghdad and gained prominence among them. However, he eventually became estranged from his fellow Mu'tazilites and formed close alliances with Shia Islam and then with non-Muslims (Manichaeism, Judaism and perhaps also Christianity). Al-Rawandi then became a follower of the Manichaean Zandaqa Abu Isa al-Warraq before eventually rejecting religion in general, writing several books that criticized all religion, particularly Islam.
Ibn al-Rawandi spent time as a Mu'tazilite and later a Shia scholar before eventually turning to atheism. He never denied God, rather denounced all religions and criticized the Abrahamic deity. Most of his 114 books have been lost, but those with at least some remaining fragments include The Scandal of the Mu'tazilites (Fadihat al-Mu'tazila), which presents the arguments of various Mu'tazilite theologians and then makes the case that they are internally inconsistent, The Refutation (ad-Damigh), which attacks the Quran, and The Book of the Emerald (Kitab al-Zumurrud) which critiques prophecy and rejects Islam. (2026). 9780748620890, Edinburgh University Press Ltd.. ISBN 9780748620890 Among his arguments, he critiques dogma as antithetical to reason, argues miracles are fake, that prophets (including Muhammad) are just magicians, and that the Paradise as described by the Quran is not desirable. (2026). 9780748620890, Edinburgh University Press Ltd.. ISBN 9780748620890
Some scholars also try to account for the more positive view of Ibn al-Rawandi in some Muslim sources. Josef van Ess has suggested an original interpretation that aims at accommodating all the contradictory information. He notes that the sources which portray Ibn al-Rawandi as a heretic are predominantly Mutazilite and stem from Iraq, whereas in eastern texts he appears in a more positive light. As an explanation for this difference, van Ess suggests "a collision of two different intellectual traditions," i.e., those in Iran and in Iraq. He further suggests that Ibn al-Rawandi's notoriety was the result of the fact that after Ibn al-Rawandi left Baghdad, "his colleagues in Baghdad ... profiting from his absence ... could create a black legend." In other words, van Ess believes that Ibn al-Rawandi, although eccentric and disputatious, was not a heretic at all. However, these views are discounted by most scholars given the weight of evidence to the contrary.
The Zumurrud points out that Muhammad's own presuppositions ( wad) and system ( qanun) show that religious traditions are not trustworthy. The Jews and Christians say that Jesus really died, but the Qu'ran contradicts them.
Ibn al-Rawandi also points out specific Muslim traditions, and tries to show that they are laughable. The tradition that the angels rallied round to help Muhammad is not logical, because it implies that the angels of Badr were weaklings, able to kill only seventy of the Prophet's enemies. And if the angels were willing to help Muhammad at Badr, where were they at Uhud when their help was so badly needed?
The Zumurrud criticizes prayer, preoccupation with ritual purity, and the ceremonies of the hajj; throwing stones, circumambulation a Kaaba that cannot respond to prayers, running between stones that can neither help nor harm. It goes on to ask why Safa and Marwa are venerated and what difference there is between them and any other hill in the vicinity of Mecca, for example, the hill of Abu Qubays, and why the Kaaba is any better than any other house.
From the Encyclopaedia of Islam:
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