al-Duktur Ali Jumaa Ila Ayn
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- al-Duktur Ali Jumaa Ila Ayn
al-Duktur Ali Jumaa Ila Ayn (Dr. Ali Gomaa: To Where?!) is a critical polemical work written by Talha Muhammad al-Masir, published in 1432 AH / 2011 CE, examining the methodology, discourse, and legal positions of the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Ali Gomaa.
Background and Purpose
The author completed the preface of the book in Cairo on 28 Rajab 1432 AH, and its first edition appeared in 2011 CE. The book was written in response to the widespread public and scholarly debates sparked by Gomaa’s opinions, particularly during the decade following his appointment to the office of Grand Mufti of Egypt (iftāʾ). The author presents the work as a concise analytical study aimed at evaluating Gomaa's intellectual frameworks and persuasive techniques, arguing that many of his arguments lack sound juristic foundation and standard evidential methodology.
Structure and Content
The book organizes its critique around two principal axes:
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Methods of persuasion (Ba‘d Asālībihi fī al-Iqnā‘): The first chapter categorizes various rhetorical and argumentative devices attributed to Gomaa, including:
- Sharp disparagement of opponents (al-taṭāwul ‘alā al-mukhālifīn), citing his severe language directed at historical personalities such as the Companion Abd Allah ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Sarh, as well as contemporary figures like the Azhari scholar Abd al-Azim al-Mat‘ani.
- Shifted stances and internal contradictions (al-tanāquḍāt), contrasting earlier rulings with later statements issued after assuming the muftiship, such as on the question of tawassul (supplication through the status of the Prophet).
- Misrepresentation or distortion of transmitted texts (taḥrīf al-nuqūl).
- Ambiguous phrasing and loose terminology (al-kalām al-muḥtamal wa-al-muṣṭalaḥāt al-faḍfāḍah).
- Relying on weak or deviant positions (al-rukūn lil-mubtadi‘ah wa-al-aqwāl al-ḍa‘īfah wa-al-bāṭilah).
- Invented principles (al-qawā‘id wa-al-uṣūl al-mukhtara‘ah), showmanship (al-ibhār), drawing conclusions without suitable premises, and multiplying doubts.
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Reconciling Islam with contradictory realities (Ruʾyatuhu lil-taqrīb bayna al-Islām wa-al-waqāʾi‘ al-munāqiḍah lah): The second main section addresses Gomaa's views on modern societal and political issues, including the conceptualization and application of Islamic law (analyzing his treatise al-Bayān li-Mā Yashghal al-Adhhān), interfaith engagement, and discourse directed toward Western political audiences.
Reception
The treatise has been cited in contemporary Salafi critiques of Ali Gomaa's fatwas and methodology, such as Shehata Saqr's al-Salafiyyūn wa-Ḥiwār Hādiʾ ma‘a al-Duktūr ‘Alī Jum‘ah.
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