Aspects of the Axiological Discourse in al-Jāḥiẓ’s Thought in Light of Ibrāhīm al-Sakran’s Critique: A Presentation and Evaluation

Abstract

This research paper examines the manāqibī (virtue-oriented) discourse of al-Jāḥiẓ by tracing his method of "elevation and diminution" (al-rafʿ wa-l-khafḍ) as a mechanism for shaping the moral and intellectual portraits of individuals and ideas. The study approaches this discourse in light of Ibrāhīm al-Sukrān's critique in his book, The Modernist Interpretation of Heritage, highlighting his key observations on al-Jāḥiẓ's methodology and his stance toward scholars and theologians. It presents a balanced analytical and evaluative reading that blends rhetorical analysis with intellectual inquiry, concluding that al-Jāḥiẓ's discourse, for all its intellectual and rhetorical richness, can involve a falsification of truth, while al-Sukrān's reading of it is not without its own generalizations and doctrinal projections.