Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır’s Christianity Criticism in the Context of Tawhid Defense Cover Image

Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır’ın Tevhîd Savunusu Bağlamında Hıristiyanlık Eleştirisi
Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır’s Christianity Criticism in the Context of Tawhid Defense

Author(s): Fikret SOYAL
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, Comparative Studies of Religion, Philosophy of Religion
Published by: Atatürk Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi
Keywords: Kalam; Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır; Unity; Christianity; Perichoresis-incarnation; Trinity;

Summary/Abstract: This article aims to evaluate the criticism on Christians’ god understanding of Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır, who has a perspective for kalam and philosophy. Elmalılı Muhammed Hamdi Yazır (d. 1942), who is known for his tafsir works, has also a significant approach on kalam. In his tafsir, Hak dini Kur’an dili, Elmalılı elaborates several issues of kalam. Elmalılı, in his exegesis concerning ahl al-kitāb, posits and commentates extensively on Christianity. His evaluations regarding their theological understanding demonstrates particularly his proficiency in kalam and philosophy. Hamdi Yazır, who had the accumulation of knowledge that is enough to commentate on sociological, political, economic and cultural cases of his time, defended the principle of oneness against trinity. Through his evaluation of the Christian belief on God, Elmalılı discusses trinity comprehensively. In his study, Elmalılı highlights that trinity was not an original fundamental principle in Christianity arguing that they arrived upon this conclusion by tampering with the Gospel, which was their book of revelation. In order to authenticate his argument for the historical emergence of trinity, he draws attention to the role and importance of St. Paul.Elmalılı evaluates trinity in the relevant sections of Sūrat Āl al-‘Imrān and al-Mā‘idah. This article is relevant because it interprets all the verses of the Quran verses and Elmalılı’s commentary will be seen.

  • Issue Year: 2019
  • Issue No: 51
  • Page Range: 259-281
  • Page Count: 23
  • Language: Turkish