al-Sawaiq al-Mursala ala al-Jahmiyya wal-Muattila
- Author died
- 751 AH
- Editions
- Ta Ataaat al-Ilm · Dar al-Asima edition
al-Sawaiq al-Mursala ala al-Jahmiyya wal-Muattila ("The Unleashed Thunderbolts Against the Jahmites and Nullifiers of Attributes") is an extensive theological and polemical treatise by the Hanbali scholar Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (691–751 AH / 1292–1350 CE) . Written to defend traditional Sunnī theology, the work combines textual evidence from the Quran and hadith with rational arguments to refute the theological positions of the Jahmiyya and various groups that negate or figuratively re-interpret the divine attributes .
Purpose and Content
The primary aim of al-Sawaiq al-Mursala is to dismantle the philosophical and theological foundations used by speculative theologians (mutakallimun) to dismiss or figuratively reinterpret scriptural texts regarding the attributes of God . Ibn al-Qayyim examines and deconstructs technical terms frequently employed in theological negation—such as denying God "accidents" (aʿrad), "purposes" (aghrad), "parts" (abʿad), "limits" (hudud), and "spatial directions" (jihat)—arguing that beneath such abstract phrases lies the negation of God's actual attributes, actions, and wisdom .
A central thesis of the work focuses on refuting what Ibn al-Qayyim terms "the four tyrants" (al-tawaghit al-arbaʿah), the overarching rationalistic and linguistic premises used to undermine the authority of revelation :
- The claim that textual proofs from the Quran and Sunnah are merely literal or verbal indicators (adilla lafziyya) that cannot yield certain knowledge (yaqin) .
- The claim that scriptural passages describing divine attributes are figurative expressions (majazat) devoid of literal reality .
- The assertion that authentic solitary hadith reports (ahad) accepted by the Muslim community convey only conjecture (zann) and cannot serve as proof in creedal matters .
- The universal theological maxim that whenever reason and revelation ostensibly conflict, rational conclusions must take precedence over revealed texts .
Structure and Transmission
The book was organized across major thematic chapters, including twenty-four core sections addressing these foundational principles . However, substantial portions of the original unabridged manuscript were lost over time; the surviving direct manuscripts break off during the refutation of the second premise, leaving the original discussions on the third and fourth principles unrecovered .
The full contents and arguments of the missing sections survived through historical abridgments, most notably Mukhtasar al-Sawaiq al-Mursala prepared by Ibn al-Qayyim's student Muhammad ibn Muhammad Ibn al-Mawsili (d. 774 AH) . Ibn al-Mawsili's abridgment closely preserved the author's phrasing across the entire work . Another concise summary was later produced by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (d. 1206 AH) .
Reception and Editions
Ibn al-Qayyim referenced al-Sawaiq al-Mursala across several of his other major works, including Madarij al-Salikin, Ighathat al-Lahfan, and his didactic poem al-Kafiyya al-Shafiyya . The book was also recorded by numerous biographers and bibliographers, such as Ibn Rajab, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, al-Dawudi, Hajji Khalifa, and Muhammad ash-Shawkani . Later scholars such as Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan Al al-Shaykh and Ahmad ibn Ibrahim ibn Isa praised the work for its depth and extensive refutation of innovative doctrines .
The extant portion of the original text was first edited by Ali ibn Muhammad al-Dakhilallah and published in Riyadh in four volumes in 1408 AH (1988 CE), based on his doctoral dissertation completed at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University . Subsequent critical editions were published, including one edited by Hussein bin Ukasha .
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