al-Sayf al-Maslul ala man sabb al-Rasul
- Author died
- 756 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Fath
al-Sayf al-Maslul ala man sabb al-Rasul (The Drawn Sword Against Whomever Reviles the Messenger) is a legal treatise by the Shafi'i jurist and scholar Taqi al-Din al-Subki (683–756 AH / 1284–1355 CE) examining the Islamic legal rulings regarding insulting or defaming the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Composition and Structure
Al-Subki completed the composition of the work at the end of Ramadan 734 AH (1334 CE), while another record notes the completion date as the end of Sha'ban of the same year. The text opens with praise of God as the One who grants victory to His allies and takes vengeance on His enemies.
Al-Subki structured the treatise into four main chapters (abwab):
- The ruling concerning a Muslim who reviles the Prophet (fi hukm al-sabb min al-muslimin).
- The ruling concerning a non-Muslim subject (dhimmi) who reviles the Prophet (fi hukm al-sabb min ahl al-dhimmah).
- The clarification of what constitutes reviling or defamation (fi bayan ma huwa sabb).
- Aspects of the honor and exalted status of the Chosen Prophet ﷺ (fi shay' min sharaf al-Mustafa).
Legal Content and Reception
The book serves as a major reference on the jurisprudential handling of blasphemy, apostasy, and the rights of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ across the various Sunni schools of law. Later jurists, such as the Hanafi legal authority Ibn Abidin in his commentary Radd al-Muhtar and his treatise Tanbih al-Wulat wa-al-Hukkam, cited al-Subki's al-Sayf al-Maslul when transmitting and analyzing classical positions on whether the repentance (tawbah) of an offender is legally accepted. In the work, al-Subki synthesizes transmitted rulings across the madhhabs, noting that among Shafi'i jurists, an unrepentant offender is executed, whereas if the offender repents and embraces Islam, legal opinions distinguish between slanderous accusations of unchastity (qadhf) and other forms of abuse. He likewise surveyed Hanafi positions alongside the stricter stances associated with the Maliki and Hanbali schools.
Publication
The book was edited by Iyad Ahmad al-Ghawj and published by Dar al-Fath in Amman, Jordan, in 1421 AH / 2000 CE.
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