al-Radd ala al-Rafida aw al-Qudab al-Mushtahar ala Riqab Ibn al-Mutahhar
- Author died
- 817 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Imām al-Bukhārī lil-Nashr wal-Tawzī‘
al-Radd ‘ala al-Rafida (Arabic: الرد على الرافضة), also titled al-Qudab al-Mushtahar ‘ala Riqab Ibn al-Mutahhar (القضاب المشتهر على رقاب ابن المطهر, "The Drawn Sword against the Necks of Ibn al-Mutahhar"), is a theological and polemical treatise by the lexicographer and scholar al-Fayruzabadi (d. 817 AH / 1414–1415 CE) . The work was written in refutation of Twelver Shia theology, particularly targeting the writings and arguments of Ibn al-Mutahhar al-Hilli .
Purpose and Methodology
In his introduction, al-Fayruzabadi states that he composed the book after examining a work attributed to extremist Shia authors that was filled with fabricated reports and unverified narrations . Rather than refuting the source text chapter by chapter—arguing that very little in it possessed any authentic basis—he opted to address the core claims and what held validity among the evidence, dismissing spurious assertions .
Key Themes and Arguments
The treatise focuses on several central theological and historical controversies:
- Merits and Superiority of the Caliphs: The author defends the precedence of Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab, arguing for Abu Bakr’s preeminent knowledge in pivotal matters such as prayer, zakat, and the rites of pilgrimage when the Prophet ﷺ appointed him over the pilgrimage in year 9 AH .
- Hadith Transmission Counts: Al-Fayruzabadi compares the narrations of the Companions, observing that Abu Bakr transmitted 136 hadiths despite living only two and a half years after the Prophet ﷺ, whereas Ali ibn Abi Talib transmitted 586 hadiths over thirty years, of which only around fifty are authentic according to his assessment, thereby arguing against claims of Ali's exclusive monopoly on Prophetic knowledge .
- The Status of the Quran: He addresses the theological doctrine of the integrity of the Quran, stating that widespread Imamiyya treatises asserted alterations in the text, while highlighting that al-Sharif al-Murtada (Ali ibn al-Husayn) and his companions Abu Ya'la and Abu al-Qasim al-Razi rejected that doctrine and declared anyone holding it an unbeliever .
- Narrations from Ibn al-Mutahhar's Lineage: Al-Fayruzabadi cites a narration transmitted to him via a written chain by Fakhr al-Din Muhammad, the son of Ibn al-Mutahhar al-Hilli, going back through his father and ancestors to Ali ibn Abi Talib, in which Ali praised Abu Bakr and Umar as just and equitable imams who stood on the truth .
Editions
The treatise was edited by Abd al-Aziz Salih al-Mahmud and published by Maktabat al-Imam al-Bukhari in Ismailia, Egypt (1st edition, 1428 AH / 2007 CE) .
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