Aylarova, Svetlana A.
Kavkaz Forum. 2024. Issue 17.

Abstract:
The article is devoted to an important part of the Islamic studies works of
the Ossetian educator, religious scholar and theologian A.A. Gassiev – analysis
of the eschatological concept of the Koran. Gassiev’s theological works were in
line with the church’s anti-Muslim polemics, but were distinguished by the desire
to explain Islam as a special religious phenomenon, and included reliance on
European and Russian academic oriental studies and religious studies. The
fundamental principle of his works is Islamic monotheism, which was formed
under the influence of the Judeo-Christian idea of the unity of God. The author
notes the rigor and consistency of the Koranic theocentrism, its manifestation
in eschatology, understood as the “second creation”. The attributes of eternity,
immortality and creativity are clearly postulated as belonging only to God. The
original Koranic cosmology notes the closeness of the two figurative-noumenal
systems of Islam and Christianity, their angelology and demonology, which have
the same biblical source. The Koranic story of the “fallen” angel Eblis is close to the
biblical one, i.e. the story of the birth of the forces of evil in the world - demons who
rebelled against God. However, emphasizing the mortality of angels indicates the
consistency of Islamic theocentrism, where immortality belongs only to Allah.
Works of A.A. Gassiev demonstrate the logic of communication between Christian
literature and other faiths, in this case, Islam, characteristic of the XIXth century. At
the same time, they confirm the high status of theology in Russian Islamic studies
of that time, its content and depth. The attitude towards comprehending another
faith not as false, but as different, has not yet been presented. But the depth of
comprehension and intellectual honesty of the scientist and theologian lay the
path for dialogue and mutual understanding.

Keywords: Ossetian intelligentsia, Orthodoxy, Islam, Koran, A.A. Gassiev, eschatology, angelology, interreligious dialogue.

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