al-Suyuf al-Mushriqa wa Mukhtasar al-Sawaiq al-Muhriqa
- Author died
- 1342 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Imām al-Bukhārī lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzī‘
al-Suyūf al-Mushriqah wa Mukhtaṣar al-Ṣawā‘iq al-Muḥriqah (The Radiant Swords and Abridgment of the Burning Thunderbolts) is a polemical theological treatise written in Arabic by the Iraqi Sunni scholar Mahmūd Shukrī al-Ālūsī (1273–1342 AH / 1857–1924 CE) . Completed in 1303 AH (1885–1886 CE), the book is an abridgment and revised critical redaction of al-Ṣawā‘iq al-Muḥriqah li-Ikhwān al-Shayāṭīn wa-al-Zandaqah, an earlier anti-Shi‘i work by the Indian-born Meccan scholar Khawājah Naṣr Allāh al-Hindī al-Makkī .
Background and Composition
Al-Alusi undertook the project in 1303 AH, shortly after finishing his abridgment of the Arabic translation of Shāh ‘Abd al-‘Azīz al-Dihlawī's Tuḥfah-i Ithnā ‘Ashariyyah . The original treatise, al-Ṣawā‘iq al-Muḥriqah, was composed by Muḥammad, known as Khawājah Naṣr Allāh al-Hindī al-Makkī ibn Khawājah Muḥammad Samī‘ (known as Mawlānā Barkhwurd walad al-Ḥusaynī al-Ṣiddīqī) .
In his preface, al-Alusi explains that he was prompted to summarize the work due to the widespread influence of Imami Shi‘i doctrines among Arab nomadic tribes in Iraq during his time . He considered Khawājah Naṣr Allāh's treatise closely aligned in scope and substance with the Tuḥfah al-Ithnā ‘Ashariyyah, while noting that it provided significant supplementary material .
Methodology and Structure
Al-Alusi observed that the original text suffered from dense, enigmatic phrasing, obsolete lexicon requiring recourse to specialized dictionaries, and superfluous narratives that offered little utility in scholarly polemics . His method consisted of:
- Condensing verbose discussions and clarifying difficult language .
- Excising irrelevant anecdotes and tangents that did not serve the refutation .
- Integrating his own scholarly notes, corrections, and contextual expansions, resulting in a volume about one-third larger than his abridgment of the Tuḥfah .
The work is organized into thematic sections (maqāṣid). The first section (al-Maqṣad al-Awwal) investigates the historical origins and emergence of the Rāfiḍah/Shī‘ah, their sectarian splintering, their stratagems in disputation, the historical role attributed to ‘Abd Allāh ibn Saba’, and their methods of arguing using Sunni textual sources .
Manuscripts and Publication
An autograph manuscript penned by Mahmud Shukri al-Alusi, consisting of 303 large-format pages, is held in Baghdad at the Iraqi Museum / Directorate of Antiquities (Maktabat al-Āthār al-‘Āmmah, MS no. 8628) . The book was edited by Majid al-Khalifah and published in Cairo by Maktabat al-Imam al-Bukhari (1st ed., 1429 AH / 2008 CE) .
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