al-Radd ala al-Jahmiyya lil-Darimi
- Author died
- 280 AH
- Editions
- tahqiq al-Badr · tahqiq al-Shawami
al-Radd ala al-Jahmiyya (Refutation of the Jahmiyya) is a 3rd-century AH theological treatise written by the Sunni hadith scholar and critic Abu Sa'id Uthman ibn Sa'id al-Darimi (d. 280 AH / 894 CE) to refute the doctrines of the Jahmiyya regarding God's Names and Attributes .
Background and Context
During the 3rd century AH, multiple traditionalist scholars authored dedicated treatises to counter theological groups such as the Jahmiyya, who denied or figuratively interpreted divine attributes (taʿṭīl) and asserted that the Qur'an was created . Al-Darimi composed the work to uphold the theological positions of early Muslim authorities (al-salaf), affirming divine attributes as described in scripture without nullification or distortion . After the book's dissemination, a respondent emerged to defend Jahmi viewpoints using the arguments of Bishr al-Marisi, which subsequently prompted al-Darimi to author a second polemical treatise, al-Naqd ala Bishr al-Marisi .
Content and Structure
The book is organized topically into thematic chapters (abwāb) . It addresses major contentious doctrinal topics between traditionalist scholars and the Jahmiyya, including:
- God's highness and ascension over the Throne (al-istiwāʾ ʿalā al-ʿarsh) above the heavens .
- The Beatific Vision (al-ruʾya) in the Hereafter .
- Divine speech (kalām) and the refutation of the belief in the creation of the Qur'an .
- Divine attributes such as the Face (al-wajh), Hearing (al-samʿ), and Sight (al-baṣar) .
- The legal and theological status of the Jahmiyya, under dedicated sections including Bāb al-Iḥtijāj fī Ikfār al-Jahmiyya (Chapter on the Argument for Declaring the Jahmiyya Disbelievers) and Bāb Qatl al-Zanādiqa wa-al-Jahmiyya wa-Istitābatihim min Kufrihim (Chapter on the Execution of Heretics and Jahmis and Demanding Their Repentance) .
Al-Darimi explicitly excludes the Jahmiyya from the community of the Qibla, equating their denial of God's speech and attributes to blatant heresy (zandaqa) and disbelief .
Method and Sources
Al-Darimi structures his arguments primarily around transmitted evidence (naql), providing chains of transmission (asānīd) back to the Prophet ﷺ, his Companions, Successors, and leading scholars . Alongside scriptural transmission, he incorporates rational arguments (ʿaql) and Arabic linguistic analysis to counter allegorical interpretations (taʾwīl) advanced by his interlocutors .
Reception and Influence
Later Hanbali and traditionalist theologians held al-Darimi's polemical works in high regard. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya praised al-Darimi's two books—al-Naqd ala Bishr al-Marisi and al-Radd ala al-Jahmiyya—as being among the most beneficial and finest works written on the Sunnah, noting that his teacher Ibn Taymiyyah strongly recommended both texts for understanding the doctrines of the early generations . Ibn al-Qayyim also praised both books in his didactic poem al-Kāfiya al-Shāfiya (al-Nūniyya) . Both Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim cited extensive passages from al-Radd ala al-Jahmiyya in works such as Darʾ Taʿāruḍ al-ʿAql wa-al-Naql and Ijtimāʿ al-Juyūsh al-Islāmiyya .
Notable Editions
The book has been edited and published in several modern printings, including:
- An edition edited by Badr ibn Abd Allah al-Badr, published by al-Dar al-Salafiyya in Kuwait (1405 AH / 1985 CE) and later by Dar Ibn al-Athir (1416 AH) .
- An edition verified by Abu Asim al-Shawami al-Athari, featuring an appended study titled al-Takhrījāt al-ʿIlmiyya li-Kitāb al-Radd ʿalā al-Jahmiyya, published by al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya .
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