İbn Meymûn’un On Üç İnanç İlkesinin Felsefi Doğası/The Philosophical Nature of Maimonides’ Thirteen Principles of Faith

Abstract

Maimonides (d. 1204) explained the thirteen faith principles of Judaism in his Commentary on Perek Helek. He presented these principles as mandatory criteria for attaining salvation and having a Jewish identity. Over time, the thirteen principles were accepted as the foundations of traditional Judaism. On the other hand, Maimonides reiterated the thirteen principles with the same content in another book called Sefer ha-Mada. However, Sefer ha-Mada was accused by Jewish scholars of having philosophical content contrary to traditional Judaism and was banned. Therefore, although Maimonides constructed the principles of faith with the same content in both works, one was accepted as the foundations of traditional Judaism, while the other was accused of being alien to traditional Judaism. This article attempts to show that the philosophical content that led to the prohibition of Sefer ha-Mada is also found in the thirteen principles in the Commentary on Perek Helek. It also explores why the thirteen principles have been embraced by the Jewish community despite their philosophical content.

Keywords

• history of religions
• judaism
• principles of faith
• maimonides
• yigdal
• ani maamin