al-Radd ala al-Jahmiyya li-Ibn Mandah - Majallat al-Jamia al-Islamiyya
- Author died
- 395 AH
- Editions
- ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Nāṣir al-Faqīhī
al-Radd ‘ala al-Jahmiyya (Refutation of the Jahmiyya) by Ibn Mandah (310–395 AH / 922–1005 CE), as published in Majallat al-Jami‘ah al-Islamiyyah, is a classical theological tract documenting traditionalist creedal refutations against the Jahmi sect and affirming the divine attributes through transmitted textual proofs.
Authorship and Publication
The text was authored by the Isfahani hadith scholar and traditionist Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Mandah (310–395 AH). It was prepared, edited, and annotated by Dr. Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Nasir al-Faqihi, an assistant professor at the College of Da‘wah and Usul al-Din at the Islamic University of Medina, who published it in serial installments under the thematic rubric Min ‘Aqa'id al-Salaf in Majallat al-Jami‘ah al-Islamiyyah bi-l-Madinah al-Munawwarah (Journal of the Islamic University of Medina). It was also issued as an independent printed volume under al-Faqihi's editorship through the Islamic University and subsequently reissued by other publishers, including Maktabat al-Ghuraba’ in Medina.
Content and Method
The work directs its polemical focus against the doctrines associated with Jahm ibn Safwan (d. 128 AH) and his followers regarding the negation of divine attributes (ta‘til), the createdness of the Quran, and theological determinism (jabr). Ibn Mandah follows the method of the traditionalist hadith scholars (muhaddithun), compiling ninety-one textual reports along with their full chains of transmission (asanid).
The topics and textual arguments covered in the work include:
- Affirming divine attributes rejected or reinterpreted by theological opponents, including God's establishment over the Throne (al-istiwa' ‘ala al-‘arsh) and His being above the heavens.
- Affirming that God created Adam with His two Hands in a literal sense (bi-yadayhi haqiqatan).
- Establishing the beatific vision of God by believers in Paradise (ru'yat al-mu'minin li-rabbihim).
- Refuting the claim that the Quran is created and affirming divine speech.
- Refuting figurative interpretation (ta'wil) of God's descent (nuzul).
In structuring his evidence, Ibn Mandah primarily cites relevant Quranic passages and narrations recorded in sound collections such as those of al-Bukhari and Muslim, followed by hasan and da‘if narrations and statements of early figures, pointing out the weakness of uncorroborated reports where appropriate. In his critique of allegorical readings, Ibn Mandah maintains that figurative interpretation (al-ta'wil) among the scholars of hadith constitutes a form of rejection (takdhib).
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