REASONING THE LAST DAY: AL-KASHSHĀF AND THE MU’TAZILITE CONSTRUCTION OF ISLAMIC ESCHATOLOGY

How do Muslims envision the Last Day? Are concepts such as resurrection, the reckoning, Paradise, Hell, and salvation understood merely as textual teachings of the Qur’an, or are they shaped by specific theological frameworks? The book Reasoning the Last Day: Al-Kashshaf and the Mu’tazilite Construction of Islamic Eschatology invites readers to explore the profound relationship between Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic theology, and the intellectual construction of the afterlife.

Focusing on al-Zamakhshari’s al-Kashshaf, this book demonstrates how Mu’tazilite theology—particularly the concepts of divine justice, human free will, and moral responsibility—shapes the interpretation of eschatological verses. Through a meticulous analysis of themes such as resurrection, divine judgment, Paradise, Hell, intercession, and the fate of those who commit grave sins, the work asserts that Islamic eschatology is not merely a collection of doctrines regarding the afterlife, but an intellectual construct born from the interplay of revelation, reason, and theological debate.

Written using an approach that integrates the study of exegesis, theology, and the history of Islamic thought, this book makes a significant contribution to the fields of Qur’anic studies and classical Islamic thought. Moreover, it reveals that debates concerning the Last Day are fundamentally debates about justice, freedom, responsibility, and the relationship between humanity and God.