al-Radd al-Wafir

al-Radd al-Wafir (full title al-Radd al-Wāfir ‘alā man za‘ama anna man sammā Ibn Taymiyya Shaykh al-Islām kāfir, "The Ample Rebuttal Against Whoever Claims That Whoever Names Ibn Taymiyya 'Shaykh al-Islam' is an Unbeliever") is a biographical and polemical treatise by the Damascene Shafi'i hadith scholar Ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi (d. 842 AH / 1438 CE), written to defend Ibn Taymiyya and validate the honorific title Shaykh al-Islam bestowed upon him Hadiyat al-Arifin Asma al…+1.

Background and Purpose

The treatise was composed in response to a contemporary Hanafi scholar in Damascus, 'Ala' al-Din Muhammad al-Bukhari, who issued a religious ruling declaring Ibn Taymiyya an unbeliever due to his doctrinal positions—such as his prohibition of seeking intercession from other than God (al-istighāthah) and his legal choices—and went on to declare that anyone who addressed Ibn Taymiyya as Shaykh al-Islam was likewise an apostate behind whom ritual prayer was invalid Abjad al-Ulum+1. Ibn Nasir al-Din considered this declaration reckless and ungrounded in the principles of biographical criticism (al-jarḥ wa-al-ta‘dīl), prompting him to write a detailed work refuting the accusation Majallat al-Jami'a al-Isl….

Method and Content

In al-Radd al-Wafir, Ibn Nasir al-Din assembled the statements of leading Sunni authorities across all four legal schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali) who had described Ibn Taymiyya as Shaykh al-Islam or testified to his scholarly leadership Mawsuat Mawaqif al-Salaf …+1. These authorities included Ibn Taymiyya's contemporaries, later scholars, and even ideological adversaries who had disagreed with him on specific legal or theological points, such as Taqi al-Din al-Subki Abjad al-Ulum+1. For each authority cited, Ibn Nasir al-Din provided a comprehensive biographical profile detailing their virtues, status, and writings Abjad al-Ulum+1.

Endorsements and Reception

Upon completing the book, Ibn Nasir al-Din sent it to Cairo, where prominent jurists and chief judges of the four schools reviewed it and wrote written endorsements (taqārīẓ) in 835 AH (1431–1432 CE) and 836 AH (1432–1433 CE) Abjad al-Ulum.

• Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani praised Ibn Nasir al-Din's extensive knowledge and affirmed that Ibn Taymiyya's leadership and designation as Shaykh al-Islam were indisputable and denied only by those who lacked fairness Ghayat al-Amani fi al-Rad…+1.
• The chief Shafi'i judge Salih ibn 'Umar al-Bulqini, the Maliki scholar Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Bisati, and the Hanafi scholar 'Abd al-Rahman al-Tafahni wrote separate endorsements in 835 AH Abjad al-Ulum.
• The Hanafi judge Badr al-Din al-Ayni (cited as Nur al-Din Mahmud ibn Ahmad al-'Ayni) contributed the longest endorsement among them Abjad al-Ulum.
• The chief Hanbali judge of Egypt, Ahmad ibn Nasr Allah al-Baghdadi, endorsed the book in 836 AH at the Ashrafiyya Hadith School (Dar al-Hadith al-Ashrafiyya) in al-Salihiyya, Damascus Abjad al-Ulum.
• Other scholars, including Abu al-Wafa Ibrahim ibn Muhammad of Aleppo and Siraj al-Din al-Himsi al-Shafi'i, also contributed endorsements Abjad al-Ulum.

Manuscripts and Editions

A notable historical manuscript of al-Radd al-Wafir was preserved in the Wali al-Din collection at the Sultan Bayezid Mosque in Istanbul (MS 1449) Ghayat al-Amani fi al-Rad…. The treatise was later edited by Muhammad Zuhayr al-Shawish and published by al-Maktab al-Islami in Beirut and Damascus Majallat al-Jami'a al-Isl…+1.