al-Intisar fi al-Radd ala al-Mutazila al-Qadariyya al-Ashrar
- Author died
- 558 AH
- Editions
- Adwa' al-Salaf
al-Intisar fi al-Radd ala al-Mutazila al-Qadariyya al-Ashrar (The Triumph in Refuting the Evil Mu'tazili Qadarites) is a theological polemic written by the Shafi'i jurist Abu al-Husayn Yahya ibn Abi al-Khayr al-Umrani (d. 558 AH / 1163 CE) defending traditional Sunni theological doctrines against Mu'tazili and Zaydi theology .
Background and Occasion
The composition of the work was prompted by the arrival in the Yemeni town of Ibb of a Zaydi judge from Sanaa, Shams al-Din Jafar ibn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Salam, who propagated Mu'tazili theological views—including the assertion that humans create their own actions and that the Qur'an is created—and challenged local Sunni scholars to debate . In response, al-Umrani initially penned an advisory treatise to Sunnis setting out the creed of the traditionists (Ahl al-Hadith) on divine predetermination (qadar), God's creation of human deeds, and divine will, prefacing it with hadiths warning against the Qadariyya .
Ja'far ibn Ahmad countered with a polemical treatise titled al-Damigh lil-Batil min Madhahib al-Hanabil (The Crusher of Falsehood in Hanbali Doctrines), characterized by al-Umrani as relying heavily on insults rather than scholarly decorum . To prevent confusion among the general public and to dismantle his opponent's arguments, al-Umrani composed this expansive refutation .
Structure and Content
Al-Umrani arranged the book into thematic chapters (fusul) designed to facilitate systematic study :
- Exposition of Creed: It opens with a formal exposition of the creed of Ahl al-Hadith, asserting the unicity of God, affirming the divine attributes of life, knowledge, power, will, hearing, sight, and speech as eternal qualities subsisting in His essence, and stating that God is above the Throne without inquiring into the exact modality (bila kayfiyya) . It affirms that the Qur'an is the uncreated speech of God, that believers will see God in the afterlife, that God creates all human deeds and intentions, and that faith (iman) consists of speech, intention, and works, increasing with obedience and decreasing with disobedience .
- Refutation of Opponents: The text then examines the scriptural and rational arguments supporting the Sunni doctrine on divine decree and will, responding sequentially to the objections raised in Ja'far ibn Ahmad's work .
- Polemical Scope: Beyond the Mu'tazila and Zaydiyya, al-Umrani also criticizes the Ash'aris, contending that while they presented themselves as opponents of the Mu'tazila, they conceded core theological premises to them .
Methodology and Sources
Al-Umrani grounds his arguments in the Qur'an, the prophetic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early generations (salaf) . He draws heavily from classical hadith compilations and creedal sourcebooks, explicitly citing works by scholars such as Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari, Abu Isa al-Tirmidhi, Abu Bakr al-Ajurri, and Abu al-Qasim al-Lalaka'i . To keep the book concise and accessible to readers, he deliberately omitted the full chains of transmission (isnad) for the traditions he cited .
Title Variants and Editions
In historical sources, the title appears with slight variations: al-Ja'di refers to it as al-Intisar fi al-Radd ala al-Qadariyya al-Ashrar, and Taj al-Din al-Subki records it under the abridged title al-Intisar fi al-Radd ala al-Qadariyya .
The work was edited by Sa'ud ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Khalaf as a doctoral thesis at the Islamic University of Madinah and was published in Riyadh by Adwa' al-Salaf (1419 AH / 1999 CE) . The critical edition relied on surviving manuscripts, primarily a copy held at Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya .
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