Critique of Henry Corbin's Messianic Thought from the Perspective of the Quran and Hadiths

Abstract

One of the central themes garnering serious attention from Western scholars and thinkers in the realm of Islamic studies is the doctrine of messianism. Henry Corbin stands out as a highly acclaimed scholar who has placed research on the messianic doctrine at the forefront of his Islamic studies. Therefore, delving into his ideas, especially the concept of messianism, holds considerable significance. What warrants particular consideration in the Islamic thought space is the question of how far Corbin has managed to grasp the core and reality of messianic thought from the perspective of the Quran and narrations during his Islamic studies. This paper endeavors, using a descriptive-analytical approach, to examine Corbin's messianic thought and assess the alignment of his views with the teachings of the Quran and narrations. The research findings indicate that Corbin's messianic thought has positive aspects such as employing phenomenological methods in research, focusing on the emergence of Imam Mahdi (AS) as the manifest revealer of the inner dimensions of religion, considering Imam Mahdi (AS) as the manifestation of the essence of God, and challenging the illusions of fraudulent claimants. However, it also reveals negative aspects like neglecting the establishment of justice in the mission of Imam Mahdi (AS), overlooking the responsibilities of the Awaited in the realm of the mission of Imam Mahdi (AS), susceptibility to the theory of the Hurqolya in describing the time and place of Imam Mahdi's (AS) life, and over-reliance on the Khutbat al-Bayan in the discussion of the perfect human. The data collection method employed in this research is library-based.

Keywords

• messianism
• henry corbin
• quran
• narrations
• hurqolya cosmology