al-Din al-Khalis aw Irshad al-Khalq ila Din al-Haqq
- Author died
- 1352 AH
- Editions
- al-Maktabah al-Maḥmūdiyyah al-Subkiyyah
al-Din al-Khalis aw Irshad al-Khalq ila Din al-Haqq (Pure Religion, or Guiding Creation to the True Religion) is a multi-volume legal and theological work by the Egyptian Azhari scholar Mahmoud Khattab al-Subki (1274–1352 AH / 1857–1933 CE) . It was the final work whose foundation was laid by the author before his death on 14 Rabi' al-Awwal 1352 AH (7 July 1933 CE) .
Purpose and Methodology
Al-Subki was prompted to write the book by what he perceived as the widespread prevalence of theological deviations, reliance on uncritical imitation (taqlid) of later jurists, and the proliferation of religious innovations (bida') in worship . In his preface, he criticized the tendency of unlearned individuals to adopt erroneous beliefs or innovations under the assumption that they were sanctioned by earlier imams, emphasizing that the founding mujtahid scholars had explicitly disassociated themselves from beliefs and practices that contradict the Quran and the Sunna .
The book's stated method is to present the rulings of Islamic worship alongside their specific textual evidences (adillah), deriving legal conclusions directly from the Quran, the prophetic hadith, and the understanding of the righteous predecessors (al-salaf al-salih) .
Structure and Contents
The work opens with an introductory section on Islamic monotheism (tawhid), setting forth the foundational creedal obligations incumbent upon the legally accountable believer (al-mukallaf) so that prayer and subsequent acts of worship rest on a correct doctrinal basis . It then proceeds to systematic legal discussions covering practical jurisprudence and ritual acts, providing detailed examinations of individual rulings and their underlying proofs in accessible language .
Editing and Publication
Biographical entries recorded that the work initially appeared in six printed volumes . The text was subsequently revised, arranged, and expanded with detailed annotations by the author's son and successor, Amin Mahmoud Khattab (d. 27 Dhu al-Qi'dah 1387 AH / 26 February 1968 CE), who verified, numbered, and sourced its Quranic verses and hadiths and commented on obscure terms .
In this revised form, the publication grew to nine printed volumes and underwent multiple editions . A third edition was issued by Matba'at al-Sa'adah in 1384 AH (1964–1965 CE), which later served as the photographic baseline for subsequent reprints supervised by the author's family to correct printing errors found in other runs .
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