al-Ibtal li Nazariyat al-Khalt bayna Din al-Islam wa Ghayrihi min al-Adyan
- Author died
- 1429 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-'Āṣimah
al-Ibtal li Nazariyat al-Khalt bayna Din al-Islam wa Ghayrihi min al-Adyan (The Invalidation of the Theory of Blending the Religion of Islam with Other Religions) is a treatise on Islamic theology and interfaith polemics by the Saudi Hanbali jurist and scholar Bakr Abu Zayd (d. 1429 AH / 2008 CE), written to refute modern calls for religious syncretism, interfaith ecumenism, and the unity of religions .
Context and Purpose
Bakr Abu Zayd completed the composition of the treatise on 8 Jumada al-Ula 1417 AH (September 1996 CE) . The work was formulated as a response to contemporary movements and conferences organized under slogans such as "rapprochement between religions" (al-taqrib bayna al-adyan), "the unity of religions" (wahdat al-adyan), "religious brotherhood" (al-ta'akhi bayna al-adyan), and "the dialogue of civilizations" (hiwar al-hadarat) . The author regarded these calls as ideological offshoots of globalization and the "New World Order," designed to blur the theological distinction between Islam and other faiths and dissolve Muslim religious identity .
Among the concrete developments that prompted the work were international summits such as the Sharm el-Sheikh summit in 1416 AH that promoted the concept of a shared "Abrahamic" identity (al-Ibrahimiyyah), calls to construct multi-faith worship complexes housing a mosque, church, and synagogue in a single perimeter, and proposals to print the Quran alongside the Torah and the Gospel in a single volume .
Structure and Content
The author organized the book into three primary stations (maqamat) :
- The First Station (al-Maqam al-Awwal): A historical overview tracing the origins and development of religious syncretism across four distinct epochs . It examines the era of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and Quranic descriptions of attempts to lead Muslims away from their faith; the period following the early generations, when syncretic claims equated the three monotheistic religions to the four legal schools (madhahib) and were adopted by monistic (wahdat al-wujud and ittihad) mystical trends led by figures such as al-Hallaj and Ibn Arabi, before being refuted by scholars such as Ibn Taymiyyah; the first half of the fourteenth century AH; and the contemporary period .
- The Second Station (al-Maqam al-Thani): A concise, summary theological verdict (al-jawab 'ala sabil al-ijmal), defining the call to unify Islam with abrogated or altered religions as a major theological deviation and apostasy that violates the consensus of Muslims and nullifies the finality of Muhammad's prophethood and the Quran's abrogation of prior scriptures .
- The Third Station (al-Maqam al-Thalith): A detailed exposition (al-jawab 'ala tariqat al-nashr wa-l-tafsil) setting forth the specific creedal foundations (al-usul al-'aqadiyyah) of orthodox Islamic belief that repudiate interfaith syncretism .
Publication and Reception
The first edition of the book was published in 1417 AH by Dar al-'Asimah in Riyadh . Following its initial release, it went through four printings within and outside Saudi Arabia, including an official edition printed by the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta in 1420 AH, followed by a second edition in 1423 AH .
Later printings incorporated supplementary documentation, including official Fatwa No. 19402, issued on 25 Muharram 1418 AH by the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta (endorsed by Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, Abd al-Aziz Al al-Shaykh, Bakr Abu Zayd, and Salih al-Fawzan), detailing the legal and theological ruling on movements advocating the unity of religions . Contemporary educators and scholars, such as Muhammad Ismail al-Muqaddam, commended the work for its detailed historical documentation and its systematic defense of creedal boundaries .
Answer updated