Muhammad Nasib al-Rifai
- Died
- 1413 AH
- Born in
- Aleppo
Muhammad Nasib al-Rifai (1332–1413 AH / 1914–1992 CE) was a Syrian Salafi scholar and preacher from Aleppo, known for his theological writings and his abridgment of the Quranic commentary of Ibn Kathir.
Life and Career
Muhammad Nasib ibn Abd al-Razzaq ibn Muhyi al-Din al-Rifai was born in Aleppo in 1332 AH (1914 CE). He received his education in his native city under its senior scholars, as well as under prominent scholars in Damascus. In Aleppo, he was employed as a supervisor and teacher at both the Islamic College and the Islamic Orphanage.
Al-Rifai participated in the anti-colonial resistance against the French mandate and was arrested for his activities. He was imprisoned in the fortress of Rashaya in the western Bekaa Valley and at the Miyeh w Miyeh detention camp south of Sidon. During his detention, he met Mustafa al-Sibai and the author Umar Abu al-Nasr, who influenced his intellectual trajectory; he subsequently renounced Sufism and the Rifa'i order that he had previously followed. After his release, he established the Association for the Salafi Call to the Straight Path (Jam'iyyat al-Da'wa al-Salafiyya li'l-Sirat al-Mustaqim).
In 1391 AH (1972 CE), al-Rifai moved to Lebanon to work as a preacher and participate in publishing scholarly texts. He later settled in Jordan, where he lived until his death in 1413 AH (1992 CE).
Scholarly Contributions and Reception
Al-Rifai authored al-Tawassul ila Haqiqat al-Tawassul (Reaching the Reality of Seeking Means of Nearness), a theological treatise examining the textual evidence surrounding permissible and prohibited forms of supplication and intercession. His efforts in addressing these doctrinal questions received commendation from contemporary scholars such as Ismail al-Ansari.
He also produced an abridgment of Ibn Kathir's exegesis titled Mukhtasar Tafsir Ibn Kathir, which was regarded as a useful commentary with beneficial notes. However, the hadith scholar Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani critiqued certain aspects of the abridgment, observing that al-Rifai had authenticated several weak narrations in his annotations and hadith index.
Answer updated
List of Works
Al-Tawassul ila Haqiqat al-Tawassul (Reaching the Reality of Intercession) is a theological treatise examining the textual evidence and rulings surrounding legitimate and prohibited forms of tawassul, or seeking means of nearness to God in supplication. It aims to define prohibited tawassul and demonstrate its invalidity, while expounding the legislated forms commanded in the Quran and the Sunnah.