al-Radd ala al-Katib al-Maftun
- Author died
- 1413 AH
- Editions
- Dar Al-Liwa for Publishing and Distribution
al-Radd ala al-Katib al-Maftun (Refutation of the Infatuated Writer) is a polemical treatise by the Saudi scholar Hammud ibn Abdullah al-Tuwayjiri (d. 1413 AH / 1992 CE) written in refutation of a newspaper article defending certain novel practices and criticizing mosque preachers.
Background and Context
The book was composed in response to an article titled Khutab al-Jumua wa-Hawadith al-Saa ("Friday Sermons and Current Events"), published in issue 7845 of the Saudi newspaper al-Nadwa on 2 Rabi al-Thani 1405 AH. In that article, the writer denounced mosque preachers for prohibiting banquets organized by the deceased's family during condolences—specifically gatherings and feasts held on the third day following a death. The writer also criticized the sermon delivered at al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca that condemned celebrating the Prophet's birthday (Mawlid), asserting that preachers should not interfere in personal affairs or overly restrict permissible customs.
Contents and Arguments
Al-Tuwayjiri begins the work by quoting the newspaper article in full and proceeds to refute its claims point by point. He argues that the columnist inverted religious priorities by viewing well-established norms as objectionable and innovations as acceptable.
The author defends the role of Friday preachers in commanding good and forbidding wrong, arguing that admonitions from the pulpit against religious innovations are acts of sincere counsel rather than abuse or insult. Regarding the issue of funeral feasts, al-Tuwayjiri demonstrates that neither the Prophet ﷺ nor the Rightly Guided Caliphs held banquets for condolences; instead, gathering at the home of the deceased's family and preparing food for guests was classified as a form of prohibited lamentation (niyaha) according to the consensus of the Prophet's Companions, as transmitted by Jarir ibn Abd Allah al-Bajali and Umar ibn al-Khattab.
Addressing the Mawlid, al-Tuwayjiri rejects the article's premise that celebrating the Prophet's birthday is a benign customary matter akin to worldly affairs, categorizing it instead as an illegitimate religious innovation introduced without scriptural sanction. Throughout the text, he supports his refutations with numerous hadiths warning against newly invented matters in religion, including: من أحدث في أمرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو رد ("Whoever introduces into this affair of ours that which is not part of it, it is rejected").
Publication
The work was published in a single volume consisting of 250 pages by Dar al-Liwa in Riyadh, with its first edition appearing in 1407 AH / 1987 CE.
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