Arab-Islamic or Greek Dialectics? Revisiting the Origins and Development of Jadal

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article presents a survey of the development of the theory and practice of jadal (disputation, dialectics) and, more importantly, examines various accounts of jadal development by addressing the issue of its origins and the extent of Greek influence on its formation and advancement. The main argument set out in this article is that dialectical practices in pre-Islamic Arabia, early Islamic tradition and qur’anic discourse, as well as Greek dialectical scholarship, have contributed significantly to the formation and development of jadal theory. If the Arab-Islamic sources provide Arab-Islamic jadal raw materials, the Greek sources shape the structural and systematic formation for the fully systematized theory of jadal in Islamic scholarship. This description of Arab-Islamic and Greek contributions to the advancement of jadal theory in the medieval period challenges the current understanding. Jadal as a dialectical art is neither solely Islamic nor solely Greek, as some scholars maintain. Rather, both have played distinct roles and contributed to its development.