al-Hujja fi Bayan al-Mahajja
- Author died
- 535 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Rāyah
al-Hujja fi Bayan al-Mahajja (The Proof in Clarifying the Clear Way) is a comprehensive theological encyclopedia by the hadith master Ismail ibn Muhammad al-Taymi al-Asbahani, known as Qawam al-Sunna (457–535 AH / 1065–1141 CE), written to detail and establish the creed of Ahl al-Sunna wa-l-Jama'a according to the early generations (al-Salaf) .
Title and Scope
The author states in his introduction that he named the work al-Hujja fi Bayan al-Mahajja wa-Sharh al-Tawhid (The Proof in Clarifying the Clear Way and Explaining Monotheism), and it is also known under the expanded title al-Hujja fi Bayan al-Mahajja wa-Sharh al-Tawhid wa-Madhhab Ahl al-Sunna or wa-Sharh 'Aqidat Ahl al-Sunna . In earlier bibliographical notices, such as those by al-Dhahabi, it was sometimes identified simply as Kitab al-Sunna .
The work covers the primary topics of traditional creed, including divine unity (tawhid), the divine attributes (al-sifat), God's speech and the Quran, the issues of faith (al-iman), divine predestination (al-qadar), God's establishment over the Throne (al-istiwa'), divine promise and threat (al-wa'd wa-l-wa'id), the virtues of the Prophet's Companions, and the obligation to adhere to the Sunnah while avoiding religious innovations .
Structure and Methodology
The text is organized into 14 main chapters (abwab), encompassing 280 individual sections (fasl) .
As a scholar writing after the initial era of hadith compilation, al-Asbahani drew upon earlier authorities and arranged his material systematically . His method relies on citing verses of the Quran, prophetic traditions, and reports (athar) transmitted from the Companions, the Successors, and prominent early scholars . Alongside textual evidence, he engaged in polemical refutations of opposing theological groups, such as the Mu'tazilah and the Jahmiyyah, combining scriptural proofs with rational arguments .
Reception and Editions
The work served as a reference for later scholars; Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya cited nearly three pages from it in Ijtima' al-Juyush al-Islamiyya, and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani drew upon it in Fath al-Bari . It is also recorded in historical bibliographies by Hajji Khalifa in Kashf al-Zunun and Ismail Pasha al-Baghdadi in Hadiyyat al-'Arifin .
The book was edited as two separate doctoral dissertations at Umm al-Qura University in Mecca: the first volume was edited by Muhammad ibn Rabi' al-Madkhali and the second by Muhammad ibn Mahmud Abu Ruhayyim . It was published in two volumes by Dar al-Rayah in Riyadh (1411 AH) .
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