Tradition and Renewal in 18th-Century Arabic Theology: ʿAbd Allāh Zākhir’s Al-burhān al-ṣarīḥ on the Trinity and Christology
This article examines Al-burhān al-ṣarīḥ (The Evident Proof), a theological treatise written in 1721 by ʿAbd Allāh Zākhir, a key figure in the 18th-century Melkite Church. Composed in Arabic at the request of a Muslim jurist and later printed at Shuwayr in 1764, the work stands as a rare and signifi...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Collectanea Christiana orientalia
Year: 2025, Volume: 22, Pages: 105-124 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | This article examines Al-burhān al-ṣarīḥ (The Evident Proof), a theological treatise written in 1721 by ʿAbd Allāh Zākhir, a key figure in the 18th-century Melkite Church. Composed in Arabic at the request of a Muslim jurist and later printed at Shuwayr in 1764, the work stands as a rare and significant example of systematic theology articulated in the Arabic Christian tradition during a period marked by both Islamic dominance and rising Catholic influence. While Zākhir adopts the vocabulary and tone of Eastern Arabic Christian theology, his method reveals a distinctly scholastic orientation, particularly through the use of Aristotelian logic and Thomistic structure. This paper argues that Al-burhān al-ṣarīḥ is more than an apologetic defense: it is a catechetical synthesis that bridges the Antiochian theological heritage with early modern Catholic intellectual currents. By boldly reasserting the notion of taʾalluh (deification) within a context where such language was often suppressed to avoid Islamic accusations of shirk, Zākhir revives a core Eastern doctrine and marks a turning point in the history of Arabic Christian thought. This study thus reassesses Zākhir’s work as a foundational moment in the Melkite theological resurgence following the 1724 split, and as theological synthesis across traditions and contexts. |
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| ISSN: | 2386-7442 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Collectanea Christiana orientalia
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.21071/cco.v22i.18227 |
