al-Ajwiba al-Iraqiyya ala al-Asila al-Lahuriyya
- Author died
- 1270 AH
- Editions
- al-Matba'ah al-Hamidiyyah
al-Ajwiba al-Iraqiyya ala al-Asila al-Lahuriyya (The Iraqi Answers to the Lahori Questions) is a polemical and theological treatise written by the Baghdadi scholar and mufti Abu al-Thana' Shihab al-Din al-Alusi (1217–1270 AH / 1802–1854 CE) to defend the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad against Shi'i theological objections .
Background and Composition
The treatise originated during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II when an envoy from Lahore arrived in Baghdad carrying a set of theological queries . The Ottoman governor of Baghdad, Ali Rida Pasha, initially referred these questions to local scholars, prompting preliminary replies by scholars such as Isa al-Bandaniji and al-Haydari . The governor subsequently tasked al-Alusi with composing a definitive and detailed response, a directive al-Alusi carried out despite his ongoing preoccupation with drafting his Quranic commentary Ruh al-Ma'ani .
Structure and Content
The author organized the work into an introduction, three chapters, and a conclusion :
- Introduction: Analyzes the linguistic and technical definitions of a Companion (Sahabi) according to hadith scholars, jurists, and legal theorists, examining conditions such as meeting the Prophet while believing, dying upon faith, and the required duration of companionship .
- Main Chapters and Conclusion: Detail the Sunni theological defense of the Prophet's Companions, systematically answering the doubts raised in the Lahori inquiry .
Reception and Subsequent Debates
Upon its completion, Sultan Mahmud II granted al-Alusi a substantial prize for the work . The treatise circulated widely across multiple regions and generated further polemical responses . The Shi'i scholar Muhammad al-Tabataba'i, writing under the pseudonym Ahmad al-Fatimi, composed a poem in rajaz meter (urjuza) challenging al-Alusi's arguments; in response, the author's grandson Mahmud Shukri al-Alusi wrote a 115-page rebuttal titled Sabb al-Adhab ala man Sabba al-Ashab to vindicate his grandfather's treatise .
Publication
The work was printed in Baghdad at al-Matba'a al-Hamidiyya in 1301 AH (1883 CE) and was subsequently published in Cairo in 1307 AH .
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