Adillat Mu'taqad Abi Hanifa fi Abaway al-Rasul
- Author died
- 1014 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Ghuraba' al-Athariyyah
Adillat Mu'taqad Abi Hanifa fi Abaway al-Rasul (The Evidences for Abu Hanifa's Creed Regarding the Parents of the Messenger) is a theological treatise written by the Hanafi scholar Mulla Ali al-Qari (d. 1014 AH / 1606 CE) to establish textual proofs for the statement attributed to Imam Abu Hanifa that the parents of the Prophet Muhammad died upon disbelief.
Background and Composition
The treatise centers on a passage in al-Fiqh al-Akbar ascribed to Abu Hanifa, which states: ووالدا رسول الله ﷺ ماتا على الكفر ("And the parents of the Messenger of Allah died upon disbelief"). In response to positions held by several later scholars who maintained that the Prophet's parents were saved or were granted faith after death, al-Qari authored this work to demonstrate that Abu Hanifa's position was grounded in definitive transmitted evidence. Al-Qari argues that determining whether individuals are among the inhabitants of Paradise or the Fire is a matter of creed (itiqad) that cannot rely on weak singular reports or conjectures, but must rest upon explicit Quranic verses, widely transmitted traditions (tawatur), or scholarly consensus (ijma).
Contents and Arguments
Al-Qari organizes his argument around three primary categories of proof:
- Quranic Verses: Al-Qari cites Quranic passages such as إنا أرسلناك بالحق بشيرا ونذيرا ولا تسأل عن أصحاب الجحيم (Surah al-Baqarah: 119), citing narrations reported by Muhammad ibn Ka'b al-Qurazi, Dawud ibn Abi Asim, and Ibn Abbas concerning the occasions of revelation (asbab al-nuzul) when the Prophet inquired about his parents. He also adduces ما كان للنبي والذين آمنوا أن يستغفروا للمشركين ولو كانوا أولي قربى (Surah al-Tawbah: 113) alongside related reports explaining that seeking forgiveness for deceased polytheists was prohibited.
- Hadith Evidence: The work cites several prophetic traditions, prominently the narration in Sahih Muslim through Anas ibn Malik in which the Prophet stated: إن أبي وأباك في النار ("Indeed, my father and your father are in the Fire"). Al-Qari also cites reports transmitted by Abu Hurayrah, Buraydah, and Ibn Mas'ud concerning the Prophet visiting his mother's grave and weeping after being permitted to visit her but forbidden from seeking forgiveness for her.
- Scholarly Consensus: Al-Qari asserts that an early consensus existed among the Companions, the Successors, the four Imams, and other mujtahid jurists on this matter, arguing that disagreements introduced by later scholars cannot overturn an established earlier consensus.
Refutation of al-Suyuti and Other Commentators
A significant portion of the treatise is devoted to refuting Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, who had authored several treatises defending the salvation of the Prophet's parents. Al-Qari critiques the hadith concerning the revival (ihya) of the Prophet's parents during the Farewell Pilgrimage so that they could believe in him, citing evaluations from Ibn Kathir and Ibn Dihyah that describe the report as severely weak or fabricated. He strongly disputes Ibn Hajar al-Haytami's claim in his commentary on al-Hamziyyah that the revival narration was authenticated by multiple hadith masters. Furthermore, al-Qari rejects al-Qurtubi's argument that the revival narration abrogated the earlier prohibition of seeking forgiveness, stating that abrogation (naskh) applies only to legal rulings and commands, not to informative textual reports (akhbar).
Reception and Editions
The treatise was printed in Mecca in 1892 CE and was later edited by Mashhur ibn Hasan Salman and published by Maktabat al-Ghuraba' al-Athariyyah in Medina in 1413 AH.
Later scholars discussed al-Qari's arguments and noted differing stances across his works. Critics noted that his claim of consensus on the topic was made at a late date without an established early predecessor claiming such an explicit ijma. Some researchers also pointed out a tension between this treatise and al-Qari's commentary on al-Qadi Iyad's al-Shifa, where he mentioned that their Islam was the sounder view according to prominent scholars following al-Suyuti's treatises.
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