al-Bahth al-Sarih fi Ayyima huwa al-Din al-Sahih
- Author died
- 1050 AH
- Editions
- Deanship of Scientific Research at the Islamic University
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 by Ziyada ibn Yahya al-Rasi, an eleventh-century Christian convert to Islam . The book compares biblical and Islamic doctrines to argue for the truth of Islam and refute the divinity of Jesus and the integrity of Christian scriptures .
Background and Purpose
The author, Ziyada ibn Yahya al-Nasab al-Rasi, was a Christian cleric and scholar from the Jazira region—associated with Nisibis (Nusaybin) and Ra's al-Ayn—who embraced Islam in the eleventh century AH . He composed the treatise to document the conclusions of his textual comparisons and inquiries, stating that his conversion was not driven by worldly incentives, fear, or grievance, but by examination of religious texts and theological works . He also sought to address Christian scholars and adherents who remained perplexed by textual inconsistencies or held misconceptions regarding Islamic teachings and the prophethood of Muhammad .
Structure and Contents
The work is arranged into an introduction, five thematic chapters (abwab), and a conclusion (khatima) :
- Chapter 1: Argues that Jesus is not God in essence nor equal to God in substance, and that biblical references attributing godhood to him are honorific descriptions analogous to biblical designations used for eminent figures and prophets .
- Chapter 2: Refutes Christian claims of Jesus's divinity based on his miracles, demonstrating that earlier biblical prophets performed comparable or greater miracles without their followers attributing divine status to them .
- Chapter 3: Responds to Christian polemical objections against the Prophet Muhammad and the Quran, showing that similar or more pronounced actions are ascribed to earlier prophets in biblical texts without reproach .
- Chapter 4: Cites textual prophecies and indications from the Old and New Testaments pointing to the advent of Muhammad .
- Chapter 5: Discusses scriptural doubts, internal contradictions, and stylistic issues across biblical books, asserting textual alteration and fabrication in the Old and New Testaments .
- Conclusion: Summarizes the findings of the preceding five chapters alongside supplementary points .
Style, Abridgments, and Editions
The text reflects the author's late acquisition of Arabic, exhibiting grammatical and stylistic weaknesses characteristic of non-Arab clergymen whose primary literacy was in other liturgical languages .
A manuscript copy of the work is preserved at the University of Tübingen library in Germany . The book was abridged by the Syrian scholar Muhammad ibn Ali al-Tayyibi (d. 1317 AH) under the title Khulasat al-Tarjih li-l-Din al-Sahih (The Essence of Preference for the True Religion), which was published in the margins of Rahmatullah al-Kairanawi's Izhar al-Haqq by al-Matba'a al-Mahmudiyya in Cairo (1317 AH) . The complete work was critically edited by Saud ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Khalaf and published in one volume by the Deanship of Scientific Research at the Islamic University of Madinah .
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