Ziyada al-Rasi
- Died
- 1050 AH
- Born in
- -
Ziyada al-Rasi (fl. 11th century AH / 17th century CE) was a scholar and polemicist of Christian background who converted to Islam, best known for his comparative religious treatise al-Bahth al-Sarih fi Ayyima huwa al-Din al-Sahih (The Candid Inquiry into Which Religion is the True One) .
Identity and Background
In manuscript copies of his work, his name is recorded as Ziyada ibn Yahya al-Nasab al-Rasi, while one manuscript contains the variant reading al-Shatl al-Rasi . Ismail Pasha al-Baghdadi referred to him as Ziyada Allah al-Muhtadi, and other writers have referred to him as al-Shaykh Ziyada or Ziyada ibn Yahya . His nisba al-Rasi relates to the Upper Mesopotamian town of Ra's al-'Ayn, while al-Nasab is understood to be a shortened or corrupted form linking him to neighboring Nusaybin . He was also accorded the epithet al-Muhtadi ("the Guided") in reference to his embrace of Islam .
The precise dates of his birth and death are not recorded, though evidence places him in the 11th century AH (17th century CE) . The Damascene scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Tayyibi noted that al-Rasi authored al-Bahth al-Sarih upon entering Islam during that century . This dating is further corroborated by al-Rasi's citation of the prophetic biography Insan al-'Uyun (popularly known as al-Sira al-Halabiyya) by Ali Burhan al-Din al-Halabi (d. 1044 AH) .
Before embracing Islam, al-Rasi was apparently a Christian clergyman and scholar . A marginal gloss on an early manuscript of his work notes that his conversion was not driven by worldly temptation, fear, or grievance, but was the outcome of extensive reading, investigation, and personal reflection .
Scholarly Activity and Impact
Following his conversion, al-Rasi engaged in interfaith polemics and the defense of Islamic doctrine . He sent his treatise al-Bahth al-Sarih to a Christian acquaintance in Cairo named al-Mani', who accepted its conclusions but sought clarification on certain Quranic passages concerning the scope of the Prophet's mission and the death of Jesus . To address these inquiries, al-Rasi composed al-Ajwiba al-Jaliyya li-Dahd al-Da'awat al-Nasraniyya (Clear Answers to Refuting Christian Claims), which subsequently prompted al-Mani' to convert to Islam as well .
Al-Rasi's writings continued to circulate in later centuries; al-Ajwiba al-Jaliyya was subsequently abridged by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Tayyibi and published in the margins of later polemical editions .
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Bahth al-Sarih fi Ayyima huwa al-Din al-Sahih (The Candid Inquiry into Which Religion is the True One) is an eleventh-century AH (17th-century CE) treatise on comparative religion and polemics. The work compares biblical and Islamic doctrines to argue for the truth of Islam and refute both the divinity of Jesus and the integrity of Christian scriptures.