al-Sawarim al-Haddad al-Qati'a li-'Ala'iq ارباب al-Ittihad
- Author died
- 1250 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Hijrah lil-Ṭibāʿah wa-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ
al-Sawārim al-Ḥaddād al-Qāṭiʿa li-ʿAlāʾiq Maqālāt Arbāb al-Ittiḥād ("The Sharp Swords Severing the Ties of the Proponents of Union") is a theological treatise written in 1205 AH (1791 CE) by the Yemeni scholar Muhammad ibn Ali al-Shawkani (d. 1250 AH / 1834 CE) to refute extreme Sufi doctrines of existential monism and ontological union (al-ittiḥād) .
Context and Composition
The work was composed in response to an inquiry sent to al-Shawkani by the scholar al-Qāsim ibn Aḥmad Luqmān . Luqmān had engaged in a debate after hearing an unreserved defense of Sufis; he argued that figures such as al-Hallaj and Ibn Arabi must be excluded from such praise . Luqmān then formulated his query in verse and prose, prompting al-Shawkani to compose a poetic reply matching Luqmān’s rhyme and meter, followed by an expansive prose treatise . According to the author's colophon on the manuscript, al-Shawkani completed transcription of the text on 22 Rajab 1205 AH .
Contents and Methodology
The treatise addresses the doctrines of extreme Sufis and distinguishes between early, orthodox ascetics and later proponents of ontological monism:
- Two Categories of Sufism: Al-Shawkani contrasts early ascetic figures who adhered to the Prophetic model—referencing Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, Uways al-Qarni, al-Fudayl ibn Iyad, al-Junayd, Bishr al-Hafi, and Ibrahim ibn Adham—with thinkers associated with ittiḥād (union) and waḥdat al-wujūd (unity of existence), including al-Ḥallāj, Ibn ʿArabī, Ibn al-Farid, Ibn Sab'in, al-Tilimsani, and Abd al-Karim al-Jili .
- Textual Critiques of Monism: Al-Shawkani scrutinizes specific writings of Ibn ʿArabī, particularly Fusus al-Hikam (The Bezels of Wisdom) and al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya (The Meccan Revelations), condemning passages such as those validating Pharaoh’s claim to divinity or interpreting the worship of the Golden Calf as manifestations of the divine .
- Scholarly Testimonies: To substantiate his rulings, al-Shawkani cites earlier Yemeni and regional authorities, including the Shafi'i jurist Ismail ibn Abi Bakr al-Muqri’s well-known anti-monist poem, as well as the jurist Salih ibn Mahdi al-Maqbali from his work al-ʿAlam al-Shāmikh .
Transmission and Reception
A primary manuscript of the treatise, written in al-Shawkani's hand, spans 31 pages (22–24 lines per page) . The manuscript contains an inscription beneath the title indicating that al-Shawkani expressed repentance later in life regarding aspects of what he had recorded in this tract . The treatise was subsequently edited by Mahfūẓah bint ʿAlī Sharaf al-Dīn and included in modern compilations of al-Shawkani’s collected legal opinions and treatises, al-Fatḥ al-Rabbānī min Fatāwā al-Imām al-Shawkānī .
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