al-Tanbih wa al-Radd ala Ahl al-Ahwa wa al-Bida
- Author died
- 377 AH
- Editions
- Al-Maktabah al-Azhariyyah li-al-Turāth
Al-Tanbih wa al-Radd 'ala Ahl al-Ahwa' wa al-Bida' (The Warning and Refutation against the People of Passions and Innovations) is a theological and heresiographical work by the Shafi'i scholar Abu al-Husayn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Malati (d. 377 AH / 987–988 CE) examining and refuting various heterodox sects and their doctrines.
Overview and Authorship
The treatise was composed by Abu al-Husayn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Malati al-Shafi'i (d. 377 AH). It belongs to the classical genre of Islamic heresiography and theological polemics produced during the fourth century AH, written to identify unorthodox trends and articulate orthodox positions against them.
Scope and Content
The work addresses several major theological factions and their distinctive doctrines, including the Khawarij, the Rafida, the Mu'tazila, and the Murji'a.
Among the central topics discussed in the book are:
- The status of the grave sinner (fasiq): Al-Malati examines diverging sectarian views on whether committing a major sin invalidates faith, contrasting the Mu'tazilite doctrine of the intermediate position (al-manzilah bayna al-manzilatayn), the Murji'ite stance equating the sinner's faith to that of prophets and angels, and the verdict of the Khawarij and Rafida who treat the sinner as an unbeliever or polytheist.
- Enjoining good and forbidding wrong (al-amr bi-l-ma'ruf wa-l-nahy 'an al-munkar): The author affirms the consensus (ijma') of the Muslim community regarding the duty to repudiate wrong in accordance with the Sunna, while warning against aberrant positions that either obstruct or improperly condition this obligation.
Publication
The work was edited by Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari and published in Cairo by al-Sayyid 'Izzat al-'Attar al-Husayni through Maktab Nashr al-Thaqafah al-Islamiyyah in 1368 AH (1949 CE).
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