al-Mukhtar fi al-Radd ala al-Nasara
- Author died
- 255 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Jīl
al-Mukhtar fi al-Radd ala al-Nasara (The Select Refutation of the Christians) is an early Islamic polemical treatise by the Mu'tazili writer and theologian al-Jahiz (d. 255 AH / 869 CE), written to defend Islamic theology and address Christian theological objections against the Quran .
Background and Purpose
Al-Jahiz composed the work as a response to a letter sent to him regarding theological debates with Christians . The correspondents requested his assistance after Christian interlocutors confronted them with theological challenges, which had caused confusion among Muslim youth and the lay public and raised concerns over the community's inability to formulate effective replies .
Contents and Method
The treatise addresses theological disputes between Muslims and Christians, beginning with Christian allegations that the Quran ascribes doctrines to them that they do not acknowledge, such as the verse: وَإِذْ قَالَ اللَّهُ يَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ أَأَنتَ قُلْتَ لِلنَّاسِ اتَّخِذُونِي وَأُمِّيَ إِلَٰهَيْنِ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ ("And [beware the Day] when Allah will say, 'O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?'") .
In addition to theological polemics, al-Jahiz provides social observations regarding non-Muslim communities under Abbasid rule, particularly in Baghdad . He observes that the Muslim public generally regarded Christians more favorably than Zoroastrians and Jews . He notes that caliphs and governors integrated Christians into administrative bureaus (diwans) and favored them in prominent professions such as banking, perfumery, and medicine, leading to a widespread popular perception that skilled physicians were predominantly Christian . He contrasts their affluent status, fine garments, and adoption of Arabic names with the status of Jewish communities, who were predominantly engaged in menial trades such as dyeing, tanning, butchery, and repair work .
Reception and Critique
The treatise is cited in Islamic scholarship as the earliest extant polemical epistle written specifically in refutation of Christianity .
The traditionalist scholar Ibn Qutaybah criticized al-Jahiz's polemical writings, claiming that when al-Jahiz cited the arguments of Christians against Muslims, he presented them forcefully, but when he turned to refuting them, his responses were lax and superficial, as if aiming to alert non-Muslims to arguments they did not know and create doubt among weaker Muslims . Later scholars disputed this accusation, arguing that the preserved text of the refutation demonstrates substantial counter-arguments consistent with al-Jahiz's dialectical style .
Editions and Studies
The text has been published in multiple collections and critical editions:
- Edited by Joshua Finkel in Cairo (1328 AH / 1920 CE; reprinted 1332 AH) within Thalath Rasa'il li-l-Jahiz (Three Treatises of al-Jahiz) .
- Included by Abd al-Salam Harun in his collection Rasa'il al-Jahiz (1979) .
- Edited with an analytical study by Muhammad Abdullah al-Sharqawi (Cairo, 1405 AH / Beirut: Dar al-Jil and Maktabat al-Zahra', 1991) under the title al-Mukhtar fi al-Radd ala al-Nasara .
- Studied by Ibrahim Awad in Ma'a al-Jahiz fi Risalat al-Radd ala al-Nasara (With al-Jahiz in his Treatise of Refutation of the Christians, Cairo: Maktabat Zahra' al-Sharq, 1419 AH) .
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