al-Sunna al-Muftara Alayha
- Author died
- 1427 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Wafāʼ
al-Sunna al-Muftara Alayha (The Falsely Slandered Sunnah) is a modern treatise by the Egyptian jurist and author Salim al-Bahnasawi (d. 1427 AH / 2006 CE), dedicated to defending the authority and transmission of the Prophetic Sunnah against historical and contemporary criticisms .
Background and Publication
The first edition of the book was published in 1399 AH (1977 CE) . It subsequently saw several printings by publishers in Egypt and Kuwait, including an edition by Dar al-Buhuth al-Ilmiyya in Kuwait in 1401 AH (1981 CE), a third edition jointly published by Dar al-Wafa' and Dar al-Buhuth al-Ilmiyya in 1409 AH (1989 CE), and a later Dar al-Wafa' printing in 1992 CE .
Addressing objections raised by readers concerning the book's title—namely, that the phrasing might imply that adversaries possessed the power to distort the Sunnah—Bahnasawi explained that the term iftira' (fabrication / slander) is grounded in sixty Quranic verses that describe adversaries inventing falsehoods against God and His messengers . He maintained that using the term does not concede that such fabrications succeeded in corrupting the actual teachings of the Sunnah .
Scope and Contents
Comprising ten chapters, the book systematically responds to arguments raised by Orientalists, modernists, and opponents of the Sunnah who contended that the Sunnah was recorded too late, contained contradictions, or should be abandoned in favor of relying exclusively on the Quran . Bahnasawi also analyzed historical differences among early Muslim scholars regarding solitary reports (khabar al-ahad), challenging secularist arguments that utilized these early legal debates to dismiss solitary hadiths from matters of constitutional law and statutory penalties (hudud) . Additionally, the work critiques Muslim apologists who, in attempting to defend Islam, made unwarranted concessions to external critiques .
In theological discussions concerning non-Sunni sects, Bahnasawi maintained that specific individuals should not be declared apostates (takfir) or condemned permanently to Hell without verifying the prerequisite conditions of takfir and establishing the absence of preventative excuses, adhering to the method articulated by classical scholars such as Ibn Taymiyyah .
Reception and Criticism
The book provoked polarized reactions among contemporary writers . Bahnasawi noted that certain Islamist authors demanded the confiscation of the work on the grounds that it departed from alleged scholarly consensus on specific disputed questions and refrained from excommunicating sects that reviled the Prophet's Companions .
The book was sharply criticized by Salafi polemicist Ihsan Ilahi Zahir, who accused Bahnasawi of lacking deep familiarity with classical and modern Shi'i primary texts, arguing that Bahnasawi had improperly defended Twelver Shi'i beliefs and disputed Zahir's critique of Shi'i views on the Quran . The academic Nasir al-Qaffari noted that Bahnasawi had consulted contemporary Twelver Shi'i scholars directly to solicit their responses to the polemical writings of Zahir and Muhibb al-Din al-Khatib . Critical reviews in the journal Majallat al-Bayan similarly grouped the work alongside Ali Abd al-Wahid Wafi's comparative study, characterizing both as emotional and insufficiently rigorous in their pursuit of sectarian rapprochement .
Answer updated