al-Hayda wal-I'tidhar fi al-Radd ala man qala bi-khalq al-Quran
- Author died
- 240 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-‘Ulūm wa-al-Ḥikam
al-Hayda wal-I'tidhar fi al-Radd ala man qala bi-khalq al-Quran (The Evasion and Apology: Refutation of Those Who Claim the Creation of the Quran) is a theological treatise attributed to the Meccan Shafi'i scholar Abd al-Aziz ibn Yahya al-Kinani (d. 240 AH / 854 CE; another report gives 235 AH) . It records a theological disputation held in Baghdad during the reign of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun between al-Kinani and the theologian Bishr al-Marisi regarding the doctrine of the createdness of the Quran .
Background and Context
According to the text, al-Kinani travelled from Mecca to Baghdad after learning that Bishr al-Marisi had publicly promulgated the doctrine of the createdness of the Quran, drawn the public and the caliph into the controversy, and caused many scholars and common people to hide or flee . A public debate was convened before al-Ma'mun to confront al-Marisi . The book takes its title (al-Hayda, meaning "evasion") from al-Marisi's repeated evasion (hayda) whenever confronted with decisive proofs during the proceedings . Following the conclusion of the sessions, scholars and followers gathered around al-Kinani requesting that he dictate a full record of the encounter, prompting him to document the dialogues in this work .
Theological Contents and Method
The work documents the polemical exchanges between al-Kinani and al-Marisi, initially establishing arguments strictly from Quranic texts and prophetic traditions, before transitioning to rational speculation and analogy (nazar wa qiyas) at al-Marisi's insistence .
A central philosophical and theological argument recorded in the text is a trilemma posed to al-Marisi regarding the creation of God's speech:
- If God created His speech within Himself, this is impossible, because God cannot be a locus for created, temporal events (mahall lil-hawadith) .
- If God created His speech in another entity, it would rationally follow that any speech created in that entity is God's speech, which is absurd .
- If God created it subsisting independently by itself (qa'iman bi-dhatih), this is impossible because speech cannot exist without a speaker, just as knowledge cannot exist without a knower or will without a willing agent .
The book also addresses the divine attributes, such as God's knowledge ('Ilm) . When al-Marisi defined God's knowledge merely by negating ignorance ("He is not ignorant"), al-Kinani refuted him by arguing that merely negating ignorance does not constitute praise—noting that an inanimate pillar is also not ignorant—whereas God explicitly praises Himself and His messengers with knowledge rather than mere negation .
Transmission and Authenticity Debate
The primary transmission chain (isnad) of the text runs through Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Azhar al-Qata'i'i, from al-Abbas ibn Muhammad ibn Farqad, from his father Muhammad ibn Farqad, from al-Kinani . A second transmission chain is cited by Ibn Batta in his work al-Ibana . The book and its authorship are referenced by Ibn al-Nadim in al-Fihrist, al-Khatib al-Baghdadi in Tarikh Baghdad, and al-Dhahabi in al-'Ibar and Duwal al-Islam, as well as being cited by later theologians such as Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Abi al-'Izz .
However, the attribution of the text has been contested by several biographical scholars:
- al-Dhahabi noted in Mizan al-I'tidal that the chain of transmission back to al-Kinani is not sound and suggested that the work may have been forged under his name . As analyzed by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, al-Dhahabi's doubt rested on the isolation of Ibn Azhar in the isnad and the historical observation that had al-Ma'mun witnessed such a decisive refutation, he would not have persisted in promoting the createdness doctrine and prosecuting scholars .
- Taj al-Din al-Subki concurred with al-Dhahabi regarding the weakness of the book's attribution, claiming that the text contained objectionable matters, though he affirmed that the debate itself took place .
Editions
The work has been published in multiple editions:
- An edition published by the Arab Academy of Damascus (al-Majma' al-'Ilmi bi-Dimashq) .
- A critical edition prepared by Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Nasir al-Faqihi, based on a manuscript preserved at the National Library of Tunisia (photocopied at the Islamic University of Madinah, MS 4040) collated against earlier printed versions .
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