Overview

This broad-ranging study, the first full-length investigation of conceptions of faith and trust in the Judeo-Arabic tradition, explores a family of related concepts-faith (imn, emunah), conviction (i'tiqd), and trust/reliance (tawakkul/ittikl)-in Saadya, Baya, Halevi, Maimonides, Abraham Maimonides, and the Egyptian pietist circle of Abraham he-asid. The work points to a rich spectrum of conceptions of faith and trust-from the purely cognitive to the experiential and affective. What emerges are themes of faithfulness, loyalty, experiential certainty, and trustworthiness, expressed in devotion to a way of life that embodies these ideals. The virtue of trust expresses steadfast commitment to the truth. This study vividly illustrates the ""Jewish-Arab symbiosis,"" highlighting the shared spiritual language and rich, intertwined worlds of Islamic and Jewish philosophy, theology, and mysticism.

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Reviews

"""This excellent book brings into focus the concepts of faith, conviction, and trust in medieval Judeo-Arabic thought. Lobel thoroughly examines the related Hebrew term emunah (faith or belief), and the Judeo-Arabic concepts of faith (īmān), conviction (i'tiqād), reliance (tawakkul), and certainty (yaqīn) and their cognitive, experiential, and affective perspectives. These Judeo-Arabic concepts discussed by Saadya, BaÎya ibn Paqūda, Judah Halevi, Maimonides, and Abraham Maimonides are investigated in depth. Hence, the present research is highly recommended to all those who are interested in Jewish thought in general and in Judeo-Arabic thought in particular."" -- Binyamin Abrahamov, Emeritus Professor of Arabic, Bar-Ilan University"

 “In this penetrating study, Diana Lobel navigates the philosophical and religious dimensions of faith and trust in Judeo-Arabic thought. Approaching this multifaceted literature with scholarly care and insight, she reveals the variety of the experience of belief, ranging from rational conviction to experiential certainty and reliance on the Divine. This work skillfully unravels the complex interplay of these ideas, highlighting both harmony and discord within this spectrum. Lobel’s analysis not only elucidates the profound heritage of the Judeo-Arabic intellectual tradition, but also demonstrates its enduring relevance and broad appeal across various academic fields.” — Omer Michaelis, Senior Lecturer of Jewish Philosophy, Tel Aviv University  “Diana Lobel’s Faith and Trust: An Introduction to Judeo-Arabic Thought, her fourth book on the most influential medieval Jewish thinkers who wrote in Judeo-Arabic, is in many ways an excellent introduction to the earlier ones. The present volume focuses on concepts such as faith, reliance, trust, conviction, belief, experience, and certainty, as expounded by leading medieval Judeo-Arabic thinkers and that comprise the foundation of their philosophical and theological teachings. The present study offers rich and stimulating chapters, each arranged chronologically and devoted to one of these major thinkers. Lobel is a learned and very intelligent reader of the Judeo-Arabic philosophers and is thoroughly familiar with the secondary literature on them. In Faith and Trust, she shows once again that she is also well attuned to the Judeo-Arabic technical terminology, its nuances and its roots in ancient Greek philosophy and medieval Islamic philosophy and theology.”  — Steven Harvey, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Bar-Ilan University  “This excellent book brings into focus the concepts of faith, conviction, and trust in medieval Judeo-Arabic thought. Lobel thoroughly examines the related Hebrew term emunah (faith or belief), and the Judeo-Arabic concepts of faith (īmān), conviction (i‘tiqād), reliance (tawakkul), and certainty (yaqīn) and their cognitive, experiential, and affective perspectives. These Judeo-Arabic concepts discussed by Saadya, Baḥya ibn Paqūda, Judah Halevi, Maimonides, and Abraham Maimonides are investigated in depth. Hence, the present research is highly recommended to all those who are interested in Jewish thought in general and in Judeo-Arabic thought in particular.”  — Binyamin Abrahamov, Emeritus Professor of Arabic, Bar-Ilan University

Author Information

Diana Lobel, Associate Professor of Religion, Boston University, is author ofBetween Mysticism and Philosophy: Sufi Language of Religious Experience in Judah Halevi's Kuzari(2000),A Sufi -Jewish Dialogue: Philosophy and Mysticism in Ba ya Ibn Paq da's Duties of the Heart(2007),The Quest for God and the Good(2011),Philosophies of Happiness(2017), andMoses and Abraham Maimonides: Encountering the Divine(2021).

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