Martin Heidegger in der Rezeption von Ṣifāʾ ʿAbd as-Salām Ǧaʿfar – Zeitgenössische Überlegungen zum Verhältnis von Philosophie und Theologie

Abstract

Ṣifāʾ ʿAbd as-Salām Ǧaʿfar is a contemporary Egyptian philosopher working mainly on the German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889–1976). One of her concerns is the question of the relationship between philosophy and theology. This paper is the first to introduce Ǧaʿfar and her writings on Heidegger’s theology to a non-Arabic audience and traces her line of argument on the question of philosophy and theology of Heidegger. The paper starts with an allusion to Heidegger’s early involvement in theology, which Ǧaʿfar considers to be the point of origin and reference throughout his different phases of thinking. Heidegger’s main work of his early period, Time and Being , is then pointed out as a preliminary to the true theology, which Ǧaʿfar calls non-traditional. On grounds of Heidegger’s later works, and especially based on a comparison between Plotin and Heidegger, Ǧaʿfar claims that Heidegger’s theology can be considered to be close to mysticism. This paper highlights that Ǧaʿfar participates with her argument in current debates on Heidegger’s thoughts on theology and philosophy. In doing so she opens up a new ground for the Arabic dialogue with Heidegger dating back to the 1950s. This paper, in turn, aims to open the Arabic reception of Heidegger as a new field of inquiry by focusing on its theological aspect.