Ahl al-Fatra wa Man fi Hukmihim
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Ahl al-Fatra wa Man fi Hukmihim (The People of the Interval and Those under Their Legal Status) is a theological treatise in Islamic creed (aqida) written by Muwaffaq Ahmad Shukri, examining the theological and legal rulings regarding individuals who lived during periods without prophetic revelation or who were never reached by the message of Islam .
Composition and Context
The work was originally prepared as a master's thesis at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, written under the academic supervision of Abd al-Aziz al-Rajihi, professor of creed in the Department of Higher Studies at the Faculty of Usul al-Din . Shukri sought to provide a comprehensive, dedicated study of the legal and eschatological rulings concerning individuals who never received divine revelation, an issue addressed across classical jurisprudence, Quranic exegesis (tafsir), and theology . The work also addresses modern circumstances where individuals in non-Muslim societies remain unreached by authentic Islamic teaching .
Structure and Contents
The book is organized into an introduction, three main parts (abwab), and a conclusion:
- Part One: Human Responsibility Is Tied to the Dispatch of Messengers (Mas’uliyyat al-Insan Muta‘alliqah bi-Irsal al-Rusul): Divided into three chapters covering the human need for messengers and the purpose of prophetic missions; the specific, localized nature of previous prophetic dispensations; and the universal, permanent scope of the prophethood of Muhammad ﷺ .
- Part Two: Defining the People of the Interval (Bayan al-Maqsud min Ahl al-Fatra): Divided into three chapters addressing the linguistic and legal definition of ahl al-fatra; whether they are held accountable to the laws of previous prophets; and categories of individuals assimilated to their legal status, specifically the deceased children of polytheists (atfal al-mushrikin) and the insane or cognitively impaired .
- Part Three: The Ruling on Those Unreached by the Muhammadan Message in the Modern Era (Hukm Man Lam Tablugh-hu al-Da‘wah al-Muhammadiyyah fi ‘Asrina al-Hadir): Divided into three chapters discussing the ongoing existence of populations unreached by Islamic propagation; who bears the responsibility for failing to convey the message; and the practical means required to deliver the message to all humanity .
The book ends with a conclusion summarizing its research findings .
Methodology and Theological Rulings
In defining the term ahl al-fatra, Shukri adopts the general definition formulated by Taj al-Din al-Subki in Jam‘ al-Jawami‘, defining them as people living between two messengers when the first was not sent to them and they did not live to see the second . This definition is not restricted to a single era or people, though the most prominent interval historically occurred between Jesus and Muhammad ﷺ . Shukri distinguishes between various categories among them: those reached by traces of past prophetic guidance who maintained monotheism (tawhid), and those who altered the truth and practiced polytheism (shirk) .
Regarding the eschatological fate of those who died during an interval without receiving divine outreach, Shukri evaluates the classical scholarly disagreements—including the positions that they are saved, that they are punished, or that their fate is deferred—and favors the view that they undergo an examination (imtihan) in the courtyards of the Day of Resurrection . He identifies this view as that of the Salaf, the majority of early authorities, Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn Kathir, and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, as well as that attributed by Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari to the mainstream Sunni tradition . Regarding the deceased children of polytheists who died prior to the age of legal accountability (taklif), Shukri reviews the differing views and determines that the strongest evidence indicates they enter Paradise .
Publication
The book was published in its first edition in 1409 AH / 1988 CE, jointly issued by Mu’assasat ‘Ulum al-Qur’an (Ajman) and Dar Ibn Kathir (Damascus and Beirut) . The published text includes introductory prefaces by Dr. Abbas Mahjoub and Muhammad Abdullah al-Khatib, and was edited and corrected by Samir Ahmad al-Attar .
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