al-Radd al-Amin
- Author died
- -
- Editions
- al-Radd al-Amin
al-Radd al-Amin (The Trustworthy Refutation) is an Islamic theological treatise by Abu 'Amr Sharif Murad written to refute a series of popular apocalyptic books by Amin Muhammad Jamal al-Din regarding the calculated lifespan of the Muslim community and the signs of the Day of Judgment .
Background and Purpose
The book was composed in response to three works published by Amin Muhammad Jamal al-Din: 'Umar Ummat al-Islam wa-Qurb Zuhur al-Mahdi (The Lifespan of the Islamic Ummah and the Proximity of the Mahdi's Appearance), al-Qawl al-Mubin fi al-Ashrat al-Sughra li-Yawm al-Din (The Clear Word on the Minor Signs of the Day of Judgment), and Radd al-Siham 'an Kitab 'Umar Ummat al-Islam (Deflecting the Arrows from the Book on the Lifespan of the Islamic Ummah) .
Sharif Murad initially drafted brief notes critiquing 'Umar Ummat al-Islam, which he shared with Usama al-Qusi . After observing the widespread circulation of Jamal al-Din's claims and the publication of his subsequent two titles, Murad expanded his notes into a comprehensive refutation addressing all three books . Al-Qusi contributed an introductory foreword dated 17 Ramadan 1418 AH (15 January 1998 CE), while Murad completed his own preface in Muharram 1419 AH (May 1998 CE) .
Contents and Scope
Murad enumerates nearly one hundred specific errors across Jamal al-Din's three treatises—identifying 30 in 'Umar Ummat al-Islam, 44 in Radd al-Siham, and 21 in al-Qawl al-Mubin . The refutation focuses on several key doctrines and methodological flaws:
- Specifying an exact numerical limit for the lifespan of the Muslim community through mathematical calculations derived from historical timelines and hadiths .
- Attempting to fix precise dates for the emergence of the Mahdi, the descent of Jesus (Isa ibn Maryam), and the appearance of the False Messiah (al-Masih al-Dajjal) .
- Claiming that Muslims cannot liberate the holy sites in occupied Palestine prior to the Mahdi's arrival .
- Misinterpreting prophetic traditions by projecting them onto contemporary geopolitical events and speculative theories .
- Heavy reliance on uncorroborated Judeo-Christian traditions (Isra'iliyyat), including a publicized prediction that the Dajjal would appear during the Jewish Passover between 10 and 17 April 1998, which passed without incident before the book's publication .
- Utilizing inauthentic and weak narrations despite claiming to rely strictly on sound (sahih) hadiths .
Method and Sources
Murad supports his critiques using classical exegetical and hadith authorities, citing scholars such as al-Bayhaqi, Ibn Hazm, Ibn Kathir, Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi, al-Suhayli, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, al-Alusi, Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-San'ani, Siddiq Hasan Khan, and Muhammad Rashid Rida .
To directly engage Jamal al-Din's premise—which maintained that true independent jurists (mujtahidun) in the modern era are few—Murad draws extensively on two contemporary figures named by his opponent: Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani and Yusuf al-Qaradawi . In the printed text, Murad distinguishes his own citations by introducing quotes with "The author (Amin) said" and places supplementary editorial annotations by Usama al-Qusi in the footnotes marked under al-Qusi's kunya, Abu Hatim .
Answer updated