al-Sunna fi Muwajahat al-Abatil
- Author died
- -
- Editions
- Da‘wat al-Ḥaqq (a monthly series published at the beginning of each Arabic month - Year Two: 1402 AH, Rabi‘ al-Awwal, Issue 12) [Publications of the Muslim World League]
al-Sunna fi Muwajahat al-Abatil (The Sunna in the Face of Falsehoods) is a single-volume apologetic and hadith defense treatise by the scholar Muhammad Tahir Hakim (Muhammad Tahir ibn Hakim Ghulam Rasul), completed in 1401 AH (1981 CE) and published in 1402 AH (1982 CE) . The book defends the authoritative status (hujjiyya) of the Prophetic Sunna against both classical and modern currents of hadith rejection .
Composition and Publication
The author finished writing the work in Medina on 29 Ramadan 1401 AH (30 July 1981 CE) . It was published in Rabi' al-Awwal 1402 AH (January 1982 CE) by the Muslim World League as the twelfth issue in the second year of its monthly book series Da'wat al-Haqq .
Purpose and Methodology
Hakim authored the treatise to counter campaigns casting doubt on the transmission, narrators, and legislative authority of the Sunna . He emphasizes that the Quran cannot be properly understood or practiced without the explanatory role and living model of the Prophet ﷺ . In responding to criticisms raised by Western Orientalists and modern Muslim writers influenced by them, the author states his method as providing hadith attribution (takhrij), clarifying difficult phrases, and countering arguments using a calm, academic approach based on evidence .
Structure and Contents
The book is organized into an introduction and six main parts (abwab) :
- Part One: The Sunna and Related Matters (al-Sunna wa-ma ilayha): Contains four chapters addressing the definition of the Sunna, its legislative status, its normative authority, and historical scholarly efforts to preserve it .
- Part Two: A Brief Overview of Classical Deniers of the Sunna (Nazra sari'a 'an munkiri al-sunna qadiman): Divided into three chapters examining historical attitudes toward the Sunna among the Kharijites, the Shi'a, and the Mu'tazila .
- Part Three: The Sunna and Modern Deniers: Presentation and Analysis (al-Sunna wa-munkiruha hadithan: 'ard wa-tahlil): Features six chapters dedicated to Orientalists, Dr. Tawfiq Sidqi, Ahmad Amin, Mahmud Abu Rayya, Dr. Ahmad Zaki Abu Shadi, and the hadith-denial movement in the Indian subcontinent, including the origins of the Ahl al-Qur'an group, its prominent leaders, and Chiragh Ali .
- Part Four: Doubts of the Deniers of the Sunna (Shubuhat munkiri al-sunna): Comprises two chapters addressing general doubts regarding the Sunna and the specific arguments of the Ahl al-Qur'an faction in the Indian subcontinent .
- Part Five: Objections of the Deniers of the Sunna (I'tiradat munkiri al-sunna): Refutes specific objections directed against the validity of hadith literature .
- Part Six: Examples of Authentic Hadiths Subjected to Criticism (Amthila min al-ahadith al-sahiha ta'arradat li-naqd munkiri al-sunna): Detailed examination and defense of twelve authentic hadiths that were targeted by modern critics .
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